Tora-Ge Densetsu Tamashi
by VampireBond
Summary: Burning with revenge against a demonic black wolf who'd stolen everything from her, Tamashi swears on her life to slaughter every "villain" in her way. Can Weed help her see a different light? PLEASE REVIEW!
1. Chapter 1

**I do NOT own the Ginga series! All rights belong to Yoshihiro Takahashi! I, however, own Tamashi!**

 _I remembered it all. Blood, thick and red, flowing on the ground. Dogs – of all sizes, ages, colors, heights, skilled or inexperience – dead. Screams of heart-rending horror and agony filled the air. My hometown, Tengoku (AN: "Heaven" in Japanese), was now considered a hell, where demons were laying waste to everything and everyone I loved. An awful, horrible, and terrible sight to behold before my eyes._

 _I heard a feminine scream of pain, a name soon following it soon afterwards. "Tamashi!" My mother's voice, calling to me, letting me know where she was. Her screaming meant that she was still alive, still had hope that I was alive as well._

 _I turned around and saw my mother, a ten-year-old female black Akita with silver tiger stripes and sky blue eyes. My mother, Kokoru (AN: "heart" in Japanese), was once a happy dog – proud, gentle, sweet, and kind. There had never been such a time where she was afraid, until now._

 _I could easily see the horror gleaming her eyes. I could see her tail curled underneath her legs in submission and fear. I could see her trembling with dread as she looked at something to her left. I followed her direction in which she looked, realizing what she was gaping at._

 _A large black wolf stood directly in front of her. He was pure black with long ash-grey mane flowing from his neck. He had icy-blue eyes, eyes that seemed to pierce through my mother's already horrified heart. Scars that formed an upside down cross were directly embedded above his left eye._

 _He was smiling, but not out of a childish, giddiness. Not one out of pride for having defended his pack. This smile was pure sadistic evil. One that enjoyed the suffering that went around him. One that mocked my mother's fear, drinking up her despair. One that seemed eager to have absorbed more of my mother's dreadfulness as she gazed back at him, petrified._

 _He approached my mother calmly, still smirking his demonic grin. "What a beautiful female," he mocked in a soft, sinister voice that nearly made my heart stop in my chest. Shit, even his voice was sadistic. "I'd hate to have to kill you, my dear."_

 _My mother trembled at the sound of his voice. "Who are you?"_

 _"_ _Oh eager to learn about me, are you?" the wolf mocked, turning his attention from my mother to me. He licked his fangs, looking past me and nodding._

 _Before I could move, a large paw pinned me down with ease. "Please," I whimpered, "don't kill my mother."_

 _"_ _Oh I don't plan on killing her," the wolf whispered at me evilly. "I just want to make sure the both of you know exactly who I am and what I can do."_

 _"_ _We've already seen what you can do," my mother whimpered. "Please let us go! We won't bother you anymore! We'll leave you alone!"_

 _"'_ _Leave me alone'?" the wolf hissed with his grin. "You're the one that going to be begging for_ _ **me**_ _to leave_ _ **you**_ _alone. Besides, why shouldn't I harm you? It's all part of my enjoyment to see every . . . single . . . one of you dogs suffer such a hell. And if hell is what you're not looking forward to, then you'd better pray to God that you'll fly up to your pitiful excuse of a Heaven."_

 _"_ _Please," my mother begged, "you don't want to do this."_

 _"_ _No," the wolf smiled, only to express his devious leer, "you don't want me to do THIS!"_

 _Before I could move, before anything could happen, the wolf grabbed my mother's neck in his jaws and squeezed hard. There was a loud crunch and the wolf tossed my mother's lifeless body to the ground._

 _I couldn't believe what I had just saw. A wolf had just brutally taken my mother's life with zero remorse or mercy, all out of his sick ass enjoyment._

 _I was about to move, but instantly halted when the wolf grinned in my direction. Already I felt horrible chills running through me like a blast of chilly wind. And I felt urine leaking out from between my legs._

 _"_ _I'm sorry that a beautiful puppy like you had to see such brutality," the wolf leered, not apologetic at all. "But where was the fun of just letting your mother live? If she was able to live, then you'd have someone to comfort you."_

 _The wolf laughed. "But, without your mother – without your entire pack – to watch over you, then you'd be sure to suffer before the hell I've unleashed in your life. And I want you to suffer as much as possible. Why bother killing the last target when you know you can just . . . strip . . . every . . . ounce of happiness from her? Leaving her fear-stricken and traumatized for all her life?"_

 _"_ _Who are you?" I whimpered, impulsively. I honestly did not want to know. I didn't want to remember this bastard's face, in case if we did meet up again. It was just a standard question for almost everyone to ask villains when they did encounter hell itself._

 _"_ _My name . . . is Scimitar," the wolf leered, grabbing my right hind leg and swinging my head against a rock. In that instant, everything went black._

"AHHHHHH!" I screamed with horror and waking up to my paws. I looked around me with fear, expecting to see Scimitar's leering face. When I didn't, I breathed a sigh of (slight) relief, but didn't relax fully.

It had been three years since that awful hell had burned my entire family – my entire life – to nothing. And in those three years, I had grown from a tiny puppy to a 21-inch tall (at the shoulder) Akita, clearly resembling my mother in every way possible.

However, unlike my mother, I had grown a twisted personality. One that most matched Scimitar's, only I was hell bent on killing every . . . single . . . villain in my way. Every war lord, every puppy abuser, every dog master that used dogs for their own gain, every subordinates under their damned to hell "Leader's" control. And just like in the way my pack suffered, they would be made to suffer as well, only a thousand times worse!

My name is Tamashi of Tengoku.

 ** _Please review._**


	2. Chapter 2

**_I hope you enjoyed the first chapter! I have to warn you that this chapter will be nothing but Tamashi going through her depression, but she actually odes have a reason for being in such a way._**

I laid on my side, sitting on the ground with horrified confusion. The past had been haunting me for the past three years, still coming back to me in nightmares. Nightmares that made me scream in heartbreak and sorrow. Nightmares that made me wish, beg, and whimper that it was me that had been killed, while my family was still alive.

Why?

Why was I left alive while my entire family was destroyed – slaughtered – before my eyes?

Why couldn't I have been killed first?

Then, there was my change in personality. I had gone from a happy-go-lucky ball of sunshine to a cold, distant, and darkened soul. I had been naïve, sweet, and kind when I was only four months old. Now, five years later I'd grown into a miserable, depressed, and angered "soul".

Why couldn't have my personality stayed the way it had? Why couldn't I have just remained a playful puppy? Why did I have to turn into such a dismal, useless piece of shit of a bitch?

Another thought played into my mind.

Why did Scimitar have to do such a thing to my family? Why couldn't have he'd just left my family alone? What made him the way he was, pure evil?

Everyone had to have had a reason for being evil. All except the bastard of a wolf Scimitar. Whatever reason made him the way he was now had been discarded from my mind.

It occurred to me that the wolf had no other reason to destroy my pack out of sheer pleasure, the thrill of seeing other suffer, no matter who it was. It was a monstrous act, one made by the Devil himself.

It was because of this act – the death of my family – that I'd decided to change my state of mind. I'd chosen to pull myself out of my naïve perspective into a more dark outlook on life. It made me realize that life was going to be full of challenges, dark trials, and evil . . . every-where I looked.

Reality wasn't a fantasy where everything would go according to your simple, childish mind. Reality wasn't a fairy tale where you would find a mate, have puppies, and live peace-fully.

Reality was harsh, cold, unforgiving, evil, and full of strict trials. Reality didn't give a

shit for happiness, joy, or flowers blooming in the sun. Reality poured a shit storm on top of you and watched as you so desperately tried to struggle through it.

My past was my evil and unforgiving reality. It was my curse that I would forever carry upon my shoulders, taste in my mouth, and hear laugh evilly in my ears. It was a swear word that I would so gladly not hiss out loud. It was a monster's shadow that loomed over me.

But why?

Why me?


	3. Chapter 3

**_Hey there guys (Ginga Densetsu Weed/Nagaraboshi Gin) fans! I really hope you're enjoying this. I really hope you're enjoying my OC's personality, appearance, and backstory._**

Lost in my thoughts, I began to think on my far past, when I was only a yearling. When I had my first kill, my first _enemy_ kill.

 _I was only just a yearling, reaching at least twelve inches in height. However, aside from height, my appearance remained the same. And my rage-filled personality didn't diminish for a one millisecond._

 _After killing smaller animals to take my rage out on, they didn't satisfy my needs. I needed to kill something bigger, like a bear, a boar, or even a wolf. Something evil. Something that could actually talk back, with the ability to scream and beg for mercy once I was done with the pitiful excuse of an animal._

 _"_ _Hah!" a mocking voice cackled from my left. I looked in the direction of the laugh and saw a large Pitbull standing over an elderly beaten Red and White Setter. The Setter looked to be about 15 years old, while the Pitbull had to be around six._

 _It was sickening the longer I looked at the sight before me. To see such an old man being tortured by a meaner and stronger dog filled me with pure hatred and disgust. Who did this bastard think he was, picking on some old man? What a sadistic bastard!_

 _I impulsively leaped out and grabbed the Pitbull's ass with my fangs biting hard. The Pitbull yelped in agony and whirled around to grab my lower body with his fangs, but I only sank my own teeth in deeper. Blood poured into my mouth causing me to grip even tighter._

 _"_ _Youi little bitch!" the Pitbull finally roared, grabbing my lower body in his jaws and easily tearing me off of him. However, in doing so, he'd also torn out a large chunk out of his own ass. He screamed in massive agony, whimpering and rolling around on his back._

 _My eyes gleamed with excitement as I saw his exposed throat. Baring my fangs once more, I bit deep into the bully's throat as hard as I could. I was piercing skin, but not exposing blood._

 _"_ _You twisted fucker!" I roared, biting even harder into the Pitbull's throat. However, blood wasn't being shed, which only made me even more pissed off. I wasn't letting go until I knew this bastard of an asshole was dead!_

 _I began raking at the Pit's chest with my claws, hoping to make him bleed in that way. I didn't care how I hurt him! I just wanted to see him die, suffer for the agony he'd inflicted upon this elderly dog!_

 _"_ _BASTARD! JUST DIE!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. With one final swipe of my paws, there was a loud ripping sound and I glanced below me. Shock glimmered into my eyes I realized_ _ **I'd ripped the Pitbull's lower jaw off in rage.**_ _Finally feeling satisfied, I ceased my actions and watched as the Pitbull's eyes rolled in the back of his skull, signifying death._

 _"_ _Bastard," I hissed, raising up my right hind leg and spraying urine in the asshole's face._

 _"_ _Stop," a weakened voice pleaded from behind me. I turned around and dropped my leg as soon as I saw the old Setter whimper to me, my cold expression turning into one of worry. "Why are you acting just as bad as the dog who'd been abusing me?"_

 _"_ _You give away such evil actions," I replied with a cold voice, "you're going to get such evil actions back in return. Quid pro quo, right?"_

 _"_ _Not necessarily," the Setter told me. "If you do such a thing to your enemy as your enemy has done to you, you'll be no better than your enemy."_

 _"_ _Maybe when you've experienced the same taste of hell as I have," I snarled, "you'll understand why I'm doing such drastic actions as I am!"_

 _"_ _Understand this, young dog," the Setter told me in a calm and understanding voice. "You'll have to forgive your enemy in order to understand him or her. Even if you manage to kill him or her first, you'll have to forgive them afterwards. Only then will you've finally achieved the ability to be pure-hearted."_

 _"_ _I can't forgive such a bastard who had made my life a literal living hell," I growled. "I'll never forgive him!"_

 _"_ _Young dog," the Setter said, "forgiveness is the prize when a war is won. If you've won, but can't feel forgiveness due to the anger in your heart, you haven't won at all. Only when you've forgiven your enemy will you've truly won that battle."_

I pulled myself out of that memory, still doubting myself. I knew, deep inside my heart, that I will never forgive such a bastard – such a devil – as Scimitar! He was the Devil, bent on making others' lives a living hell. He was cold, sociopathic, psychopathic, and pure evil.

I could never – ever – forgive such a devil as him, not even if he was on the ground, begging for his life!

 ** _I know most of the chapters are kind of short, but I feel as if Tamashi's personality has been witnessed enough. Also, we have to come to a realization that she might – might – be given a chance at redemption._**


	4. Chapter 4

Whenever I had nightmares, most of them were about Scimitar killing my mother without the slightest ounce of remorse. Scimitar was usually laughing his maniacal, mother fucking ass off. His eyes were filled with demonic glee as proceeded to slaughter my mother in so many way – breaking her neck, ripping out her spine, biting into her skull and tearing out her eyes.

And I was unable to do anything except cower in fear and horror. My lips were moving, but I was unable to scream my mother's name out loud. My tail was curled in between my hind legs in horror, my ears pinned back in the same terrified stance.

However, as soon as I went back to sleep, a new nightmare crept into my mind. _I was lying on my side, bloodied, bruised, and heavily wounded. I was a fully grown Akita, weighing around 140 pounds and reading a height of 32 inches. I was also pinned down by the devil of a wolf who'd made my life a literal living hell._

 _"_ _Have you ever thought of becoming a mother, dear pretty Tamashi?" he asked almost in a seductive tone. "Do you know how good it feels to have such a pleasurable organ inside of you?"_

 _"_ _You bastard," I whimpered, unable to move properly in my condition._

 _"_ _I'll take that as a no, then?" the wolf licked his fangs and climbed on top of me, licking my neck with lust. "Such a beautiful female."_

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" I screamed in absolute horror, instantly waking up. To my relief, I didn't see the demonic wolf, didn't hear his cruel chuckle, didn't detect his malicious scent.

However, as much as a part of me wanted to say it was just a nightmare, another voice was speaking the cold, evil truth in my ear. _It's not a nightmare,_ it whispered evilly. _It was real. It was a taste of hell, hell that had already poured its blood rain all over you._

Unable to do anymore, I slammed my head into the grass and sobbed heavily.


	5. Chapter 5

I was still burying my head inside the grass, sobbing my eyes out. My tail was curled between my legs and my ears were pinned back in fright. I was shivering and sweating, panting heavily and faster than a normal pace. My heart was pounding in my chest, so loud and fast I swear it was about to burst.

"Miss?" a young boyish voice asked me curiously.

Sniffling, I looked up from my lowered position and saw a rather beautiful sight. Right in front of me was a yearling strangely blue furred Akita with Tiger-Stripes. He was no more taller than he was at my elbow, but he looked strong, able, fast, and skillful. His ocean colored eyes spoke of a great wisdom and kindness far greater than any dog I've encountered.

"Are you okay?" the yearling Akita asked.

I didn't know what to make of the puppy. He didn't seem evil or cruel in any way, shape or form. The way he titled his head to the right was out of pure confusion and his tail wagged the ground in a gleefully, excited manner. Plus, I could sense something powerful about this puppy.

"You look like you need some comfort," the puppy said. "Would you like to join my pack?"

"I . . ." Despite my now-knowledge of this puppies' personality, I wasn't sure if such a puppy like him would allow me – a lowly, depressed, and traumatized literal bitch of a dog like me – into his pack. Why would a puppy show me such kindness when – usually – all I ever received was pain all throughout my life?

But this puppy was different. He was offering me a place in his pack. His pack, his family. A group of dogs who were possibly his closest friends, possibly a mother and father as well. Maybe I too would become part of that pack . . . of that family.

"Okay," I agreed. "I'll join your pack. What's your name?"

"Weed," the yearling said, saying something else that shook my spine with utter shock, "the Leader of Ohu."

"You're the leader?" I asked in a whisper, not believing what I was hearing.

How could someone so small have become such a leader? Maybe it was because of his coloring in his unique fur. Or maybe his family had also been great Leaders and they decided to pass down the generation.

Regardless of the outcome, I nodded my head. "My name is Tamashi," I said, not giving away my "slayer name". I didn't want to expose such a cruel pseudonym to this puppy's ears. "Tamashi of Tengoku. Where is this pack of yours?"

"Where you're at right now is Futago's Pass," Weed explained. "It shouldn't take more than a few minutes, maybe fifteen to get us both there."

"Thank you, Weed," I said, nodding my head as he and I both took off to meet his pack.


	6. Chapter 6

"We're almost there!" Weed called from in front of me.

It wasn't that I didn't want to go fast. Though I had to be fair and allow Weed to make the directions, since he actually knew where we were going. I, on the other hand, would have made a fool of myself for rushing blindly without knowing where in the hell I was going.

"Alright!" I shouted from behind, keeping up with Weed at a medium trot.

Finally, we came to a gorge, reaching about hundred-feet deep and possibly eighty-feet at length from one side of the cliff to the other. Doubt immediately began to fill my eyes as I proceeded to stare at the gorge in front of me. How could I cross such a lengthy leap?

"Let's go, Tamashi," Weed ordered, leaping over the cliff without hesitation. Before I could utter a word, Weed was already seven feet in the air and heading straight towards the other side of the cliff. To my shock, he landed perfectly on his paws on the other side of the cliff. _And he was just a yearling_!

Turning around to face me, Weed shouted, "Tamashi! Aren't you coming? Do you want a head-start?"

I hesitated. All I could do was stare at that deep and wide gorge and tremble. Doubt settled in my eyes and I nearly walked away from the sight before me. A mere yearling managed to succeed that jump! How in the hell would I be able to?

"I can't, Weed!" I hollered back at him. "I can't!"

If I couldn't face my past and look it straight in the eye without so much as a glimmer of fear in my own, how in the hell was I going to be able to make such a huge jump?

I finally buried my head into the sand, sobbing pitifully. Why was I such a weakling? In an instant, the answer came to me. Because of my past, my awful, hellish nightmare of a past. Why couldn't I have grown a spine over the past three years?

"Tamashi?" Weed's voice asked with concern, causing me to lift my head up in defeat. "What's wrong?"

"I don't deserve to come with you and meet your pack," I whimpered. "I only agreed because I thought I was going to have a family. But now that you're revealing this test in front of me – a test that I most will certainly fail – I'm not sure if I have the spine for such a task!"

"Listen to me, Tamashi," Weed said in a sharp tone. "You only have one life. If you waste it away on thinking you're nothing but a coward, then that's who you'll most certainly become in the future. But you'll have to look past your fears, face them head-on, and defeat them without horror. Only then will you be considered such a warrior."

"But Weed–" I was cut off when Weed _slightly bit my tail_ , causing me to whirl my head around. "What the hell was that for?"

"You're not worthless, Tamashi," Weed barked. "I can easily sense potential in you. But you'll have to prove to me that you can do this task that I'm giving you."

"Weed?" I was almost on the verge of crying. To think a puppy can have such confidence in a total stranger he barely knew! "Weed."

"Let's do it," Weed said, "together!"

Standing to my feet, I suddenly felt a rush of – what was this? – hope. I'd _never_ felt such a sense of optimism. It felt more powerful than when I'd killed my first dog. It was stronger than a rain storm!

It caused me to face the gorge ahead of me. It washed away any fear or doubt that happened to be lingering in my mind. It made me smile at the gorge, the hesitation no longer present in my mind.

Without knowing what I was doing, I turned around and walked away from the gorge. But this time, the crippling doubt was no longer over whelming my thoughts. Instead, I raced at the gorge with full speed. My heart was pounding with a strange new feeling . . . hope!

The millisecond my hind legs sprung from the edge of the cliff I threw myself into the air. And not into a measly two-and-a-half feet, but a whopping eight feet! I pushed myself towards the other side of the cliff, nearly looking down in fear.

Luckily, Weed had my back. "Don't look down, Tamashi," he warned me. "Just focus on the other side of the cliff. Looking down causes you to give into the fear of falling!"

My heart nearly stopped at those words. I'd never heard such powerful words, especially not from such a yearling. I had to focus on the other side of the cliff, had to concentrate, had to get to the other side. Millisecond by millisecond, the edge of the cliff began to come closer.

Finally, my paws landed on hard tan ground, causing me to trip and flip over head first into the ground. It wasn't a graceful landing, but it was a _landing_.

I looked up at Weed, who was grinning down at me with pride. "You did it, Tamashi," he congratulated me. "You're now an Ohu soldier."

"Thank you, Weed," I said, climbing to my paws and bowing my head. "Thank you very much." Inhaling deeply, I exhaled a breath of relief and confidence. "Now, let's go meet your pack."

 ** _Is it getting better? What do you think of it so far?_**


	7. Chapter 7

I followed Weed past the forest until we finally approached a large mountain structure that had to be made large – I mean LARGE – boulders. Massive sticks were jutting out of the structure. The structure itself seemed to stand at least one hundred feet tall.

"What is that?" I asked Weed, confused as I proceeded to stare at the rock-built mountain.

"That is Gajou," Weed explained. "This is the place where my father, his dogs, and Akakabuto had their battle."

"Wait," I muttered, recognizing the name "Akakabuto". "Akakabuto? Fighting against an army of dogs with his own army of bears?" For a millisecond, I stared off into space, unable to comprehend what I was about to say. " _Your father must be Gin_!"

Weed nodded with pride, wagging his tail. "Yes, Tamashi," he responded. "He is."

In a state of pure joy, I began to wag my tail furiously. "Let's go see him! If he's really a great of a Leader as that, then I'll be forever glad to have met someone as amazing as him."

"But he is no longer the Leader," Weed responded, causing me to tilt my head to the left in confusion. "I'm the Leader now."

"But how?" I asked.

Weed began to respond, but was soon interrupted by a calm and deep voice. "My son," the voice said. "Who do you have with you?"

I lifted my head upwards to see a large silver Akita with three scars on his forehead. He looked to be 11-year-old, though he seemed yet powerful and wise. I could easily sense the strong, but gentle aura wavering off of him.

"A-A-Are you G-G-Gin?" I stammered, blinking my eyes in bewilderment.

"Yes," the elder Akita told me in a voice that caused me to tear up in awe. Never have I ever heard such power and wisdom in a simple voice. It caused me to lower my entire body to the ground in respect.

"Gin," I whimpered, allowing my tears to run freely down my cheeks. "It is such an honor to meet you."

"I'm no longer the Leader of Ohu," Gin told me in a calm voice. "My son, Weed, has taken such a role after he'd surpassed me."

"Tamashi?" Weed asked. "Would you like to meet the rest of my pack?"

"Of course, Weed," I gratefully accepted as I was soon led to a pack of twenty-two dogs.

I saw a white Kishu with red eyes who looked as wise, strong, and able as the Gin.

"This is Akame, one of the Leader of Ohu," Weed introduced me.

An English Setter was leaping around in a goofy manner, licking his lips as he struggled to dig his way through the dirt in order to find . . . something. "Tamashi," Weed said, "I would like you to meet GB. He's the one that named me."

A yellow Labrador with brown spots and a yearling Golden Retriever snuggled together. "This is Hook and Mel," Weed proceeded to greet me to the dogs of his pack.

A grey Kai-Ken with two scars on his snout and one running diagonally across his face and a brown Great Dane/Saluki mix with two scars running horizontally across his right eye were both conversing with each other. They both ceased their actions and smiled calmly at me. "Hey there," the Great Dane said. "I'm Ken and this is Kagetora."

A black Kai-Ken with only one blue eye gazed at me with furious suspicion while another brown Great Dane with a collar on his neck stared at me. Or seemed to stare, though as I was edging away, he continued to stare off into space. It suddenly occurred to me that _the Dane was blind_! A white female Saluki with a brown collar on her affectionally licked the snout of the blind Dane.

"Whoever you are," the Kai Ken growled in an elderly voice that seemed more like a cough, "I hope you don't mean any harm to this pack. I'm Kurotora. This is Ben and his mate, Cross."

Another white Saluki (a male this time) with scars on his body gazed at me with awareness, as though I would attack him at any moment. "My name is George," he greeted with a bare of his fangs, "the brother of Ken and the son of Ben and Cross."

A large yellow Great Pyrenees with one green-blue eye yawned and stretched, looking over at the female red Akita who was sleeping right next to him. He sniffed the air and looked up at me with a gentle smile. "I can see you're new to this pack," he observed. "I'm Hiro the ball-snatcher. This is Reika."

A grey Shikoku with a white Mohawk stared at me with intense inspection. "It's a pleasure to meet someone new," the Shikoku said. "My name is Tesshin, a Ninja-Dog of Koga."

An orange-golden Borzoi smiled politely at me, nodding his head. "Hello," he said. "my name is Rocket."

A two-year-old scarred white Kishu glared at me with the same aggressive anticipation as the scarred Saluki. "You'd better not do anything to betray this pack," he snarled.

"Easy, Kyoushiro," Tesshin said, trying to calm him down.

A large English Mastiff with scars on his muzzle and cheek was rolling around and laughing, playing with a younger English Mastiff who happened to be his son. Watching the scene was a smiling brown Tosa, who looked to stare at me. "I'm Musashi," he greeted. "This is Moss, Monster of the Misty Mountains, and his son Jaguar."

Finally, a black Labrador with scars where his eyes should be seemed to (strangely) stare in my direction calmly, along with a grey Greyhound with metal legs and a tan Black mouth Cur.

"My name is Bat," the scarred black Labrador said, looking over at the Greyhound and the Cur. "This is Kite and Buruge."

I couldn't help but stare in amazement at the Kite's legs, how shiny and sharp they looked as they gleamed in the sunlight. "Those look pretty cool," I said with a grin.

"Thank you," Kite thanked me.

"Who are you?" they all asked me simultaneously.

"I'm Tamashi," I said. "Tamashi of Tengoku."


	8. Chapter 8

I decided to interact with Mel and Hook, noticing how kind they were towards each other. Mel was gently nipped at Hook's brown ears and laughing, while Hook was allowing the teasing. Just seeing the awfully adorable scene made me think back to me and my own mother. Tears slowly began to fill my eyes as I realized that I would never – ever – again have this chance with my own mother again and hatred and rage filled my heart.

"Tamashi?" Mel asked curiously, having stopped playing with Hook's ear and looking in my direction. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," I lied, trying to laugh away my sobs. "It's just that you two look so cute together." Clearing my throat, I began to ask some questions. "So, how exactly did you two become friends? Were you like that at an early birth?"

"No," Hook responded. "Actually, we were brought along the same path by a dog – a Siberian Husky – named Blue. He had used me and my brother Kuro as his slaves, ordering us to steal food from humans."

"Bastard," I hissed, gritting my fangs in rage. "If I were there, I would've ripped his throat out."

"Before I was taken to the pound and raised by my master, I'd seen my brother get killed before my eyes by Blue himself," Hook said, sighing at the memory. "Then, Mel was forced into his group of bullies after taken from his mother and used as a slave." He lowered his head. "I was filled with so much regret," Hook lifted his head, "but then Weed came along and lifted the courage I'd hidden inside all along."

"What happened to Blue?" I asked curiously. "Did Weed kill him?"

"He didn't need to," Mel responded, causing me to blink in bewilderment. "Weed had attempted to save him after seeing him get run over by a truck. But, in return, Blue had saved Weed."

"A villain – a dog who'd killed your brother – had saved Weed?" I asked, shaking my head in disbelief. " _Blue actually saved him_?"

"Yes," Mel answered with a smile and a nod.

A glimmer of glee had brightened in my eyes, causing me to look over at Weed. "But why?" I asked, more to myself.

Hook, obviously hearing my question, answered. "Blue had replied that if he'd been shown kindness, then he would've never had done anything like that. And he didn't regret saving him."

It slowly crept into my mind that maybe – maybe – not all dogs or wolves were evil out of the blue (heh lousy pun). Blue, even though I haven't really known the dog, had saved Weed from getting hit by a truck because he'd been shown kindness for what might have been the first time in his life.

But what if Blue hadn't saved Weed and actually killed him in that instant? What would have his friends had thought of that tragedy? What if Blue had _intentionally_ ran into the street to _allow Weed to get hit_?

"I'm sorry, Hook," I sighed, baring my fangs. "I can't believe – I refuse to believe – that such a thing would happen to an enemy dog. Come on! He uses other dogs, puppies included, for his own amusement and then at the last second decides he's going to repent? What a load of BULLSHIT!"

"Tamashi," Hook breathed. "It really did happen. Blue really did repent for all that he'd done."

"And what about Mel's mother?" I demanded. "What happened to her?"

"She had decided to stay in the neighborhood with another dog I knew named Golby," Hook responded. "She had said she wanted to picture what her little son would grow up to become."

"Hook," I muttered, shaking my head. "Your life isn't going to be happy just because of one little flower that's suddenly bloomed in a wasteland. Life is full of shit and unforgiving, cruel in all its challenges that it throws at you."

"Tamashi," Hook said in a calm tone, "perhaps you should hang out with someone else if our past is too much for you to bear."

"Yeah," I lowered my head reluctantly. "Maybe I should."

 ** _Aye yae yae, Tamashi! That was cold!_**


	9. Chapter 9

I turned my head away from the foolish Labrador and the Retriever puppy with disgust. They would never know the awful pain that I'd been through. Losing your brother was one thing, but I'd lost my entire pack! My entire pack – brothers, sisters, cousins, aunt, uncles, father . . . and my mother – was utterly slaughtered before my eyes. Brutally maimed beyond recognition!

My attention turned towards GB and Sasuke, who were joking around and having a good time. I snorted in distaste, causing both of them to look up and grin idiotically at me. "What are you doing, Tamashi?"

"Nothing," I hissed, about to turn my head away from the two friends.

"Aww, c'mon," Sasuke whined, wagging his tail. "Why don't you interact with us?"

"You two are just like Mel and Hook," I growled. "Playing around without a care in the world. What a bunch of fools."

"Hey," Sasuke responded annoyed, "don't say that around Weed's godfather."

"Weed's . . ." I began to shake with humiliation. I had just disrespected GB, possibly one of Weed's closest friends.

"Sasuke's right, Tamashi," GB told me. "I had given Weed his name soon after his mother died. His mother had never given him a name before her death."

"His mother?" I frowned, feeling greatly ashamed of myself. What right did I have to insult such a friendly English Setter – Weed's godfather – after he revealed that truth? After he and his friend were both trying to interact with me?!

I lowered my head in shame. "I'm sorry, GB," I muttered.

Even with my head lowered, I could see GB's smile as he spoke, "It's alright. You were just upset. It wasn't your fault that you didn't know the little things."

"Thanks, GB," I said with a smile this time. Shaking my head, I asked them, "Do you two have a special place in Weed's pack? Or are you just normal dogs?"

"We're Weed's friends," GB responded, "but we don't really have a rank in his pack. We're just here to goof, play around, or even comfort him."

"Oh," I said, smiling, "I see. You two are the jokers of the pack."

"Yeah," Sasuke told me. "If you want to see two of Weed's truest friends, you should go meet Ken and Kagetora."

"Sure," I replied with a smile, walking away from the jokesters of the pack and towards the Kai-Ken, Great Dane, and Saluki.

 ** _I'm sorry it's taking so long. I just feel like Tamashi should be able to get to know the pack before she . . . nevermind._**


	10. Chapter 10

"Ken! Kagetora! George!" I called out to the three dogs, causing them to look in my direction. "Do you guys mind if I interact with you three?"

"Sure," Kagetora responded with a nod and grin, allowing me to sit on my haunches and gaze at them with curiosity. "What do you want to know?"

"How you three and Weed became friends," I answered with a smile of my own.

"It began when a monstrous genetically enhanced German Shepherd called Kaibutsu went rampant and began attacking humans due to his experimentations," Kagetora told me. "Me, Ken, and a couple of others were kept out of Gajou so that Gin's substitute could handle the monster. Unfortunately, Gin wasn't around at the time to deal with the monster himself. He had left, sure that everything would be okay in Tokimune's (his substitute) paws."

"Why did Gin leave?" I asked, almost furiously. "Did he really think that everything would be okay just because of one measly little decoy? What a fool."

"Gin is _anything_ but a fool, Tamashi," George snapped his fangs at me. "He had no idea that something bad would happen. He'd never suspected such a tyrant monster to lay waste to Ohu."

"Which makes him a fool!" I roared, howling in rage. "Leaving your land in some mutt's paws only to have such a beast come in and destroy your Paradise? What a stupid ass you are, Gin!"

To my shock, I was suddenly pinned down on my back and felt a paw press down on my throat. George's eyes glared down at me with venom. "Don't . . . you . . . dare call Gin a 'stupid ass' ever again, Tamashi. Gin is a great Leader. He has a lot of courage, skill, speed, and – of all things – bravery. If he really was a fool, he'd be running with his tail between his legs when he first came upon Akakabuto. But he didn't! He actually faced the bear head-on and _decapitated him in one blow_!"

"Gin . . ." I muttered, realizing what stories my mother had told me. She had told me that Gin was a brave, strong, and smart dog. Even when he and his 700 dogs were more than outmatched by the bear, he still fought on. Not once had he ever lost his ground and had more than enough courage to tear the bear's head off with his shoulders.

I sighed with disgust, more to myself than towards Gin. How could I have out-loud mocked him, scorned his bravery, and made him seem weak? He was just as brave as many of these other dogs. Heck, George – a dog I barely knew – had enough courage to put me in my place and hiss directly in my face. What kind of a mutt was I to speak so damn foolishly?

"I'm sorry, George," I whimpered, curling my tail in between my legs. "It was stupid of me to spit some bullshit like that to you." Whining in submission, I watched as George lifted his paw from my throat. "I'm sorry, George."

"Next time," George warned with a snarl that I could have sworn sounded like a wolf's, "I'll put you in your place, you dumb ass bitch. Now, go to someone else and boast to them about your selfish ways."

Whimpering, I meekly walked away towards another dog, the handsome white Kishu with the scars all over him.

 ** _Ahhh shit, Tamashi. Is it getting better? Should I continue? I'm sorry about Tamashi's cruel attitude, but you have to remember her past and she hasn't really grown into what I (want) to make her. Just so you know._**


	11. Chapter 11

"Hey there, Kyoushiro," I greeted with a grin. My eyes wandered all over his body, marveling at the scars he was bearing. Even though he was scarred in body, I could sense his unwavering strong will and the defiant, but suspicious look in his eyes.

"Hello, Tamashi," he said, smirking back at me. His grey eyes gazed into my own with interest. "You told us that you were from Tengoku, right? 'Tengoku' means 'Heaven', in Japanese right?"

"Yeah," I replied, smiling up at the sky. "It really felt like Heaven. The flowers blooming in the spring. The warm sun boring down on you in the summer. The cool autumn wind blowing through your fur in the fall. Even the snow was light, but still enjoyable, barely reaching three inches on the grounds."

"It sounds beautiful," Kyoushiro said with a sigh of pleasure.

"How did you and Weed become friends?" I asked with honest curiosity.

"Heh," Kyoushiro smirked. "We met at an unfortunate timing. I was just cutting off an ear of a dog named Riku, who'd been abusing his own four-month-old son Teru. Weed stopped me, pushing me aside and asking if we could talk things out instead of fighting about the situation."

"Did you?" I asked, titling my head.

"I howled and brought my pack together so that he could understand who I was and my name," Kyoushiro admitted. "I had roughly 50 followers, all months old puppies who'd been abused by their parents. When Teru said that he no longer wanted his father, we threw him over a cliff and into a river. I warned him not to come within 100 kilometers of him if ever did return."

"Did he return?" I questioned.

"Yes," Kyoushiro growled, "but he'd brought back up – two Doberman assassins named Thunder and Lector. They ambushed us and attacked, mercilessly and brutally. Weed finally gained the upper paw by knocking one of Thunder's fangs out using a branch."

"Weed did that?" I asked, gaping in wordless shock.

"Unfortunately, when Teru went to recuse me from being killed by Lector, he too was pinned and used as a hostage. But someone jumped in, deceived Lector and Thunder, and managed to fight them off bravely before being killed."

"Who was it?" I asked, worried. "Was it Weed?"

" _It was Teru's father, Riku_ ," was the response that made my breathing stop for a full ten seconds. "Riku said that he was sorry for abusing Teru, but before he could continue, Lector bit onto his upper jaw and snapped it brutally in two."

"Where was everybody else in Weed's pack?" I asked.

"They were in hiding and came charging towards the assassins, easily gaining the upper hand and threw them away easily," Kyoushiro replied. "Weed decided to let them live, saying that he didn't want anyone finishing off escaping enemies."

"WHAT?" I roared, my back arched in rage and my fur bristling.

"But," Kyoushiro halted my rage, "before anything could happen after that, Riku sadly died from the wound Lector had inflicted upon him. And Teru finally forgive his father, though it was far too late."

"So what made you decide to go with Weed?" I asked. "Was it because of his 'justice'?"

"Yes," Kyoushiro said, giving me a harsh look. "Ever since then, I've taken upon myself to protect Weed and go along with his wishes, hoping it'll make me more rightful in my decisions. He even made me one of the commanders in attacking Hougen's own commanders."

"Did you win?" I asked eagerly.

"Of course I had," the scarred Kishu told me. "He thought he was all-powerful just because he was a Shinigami – a Death God – being able to be revived after being killed or brutally maimed in battle. But I'd spared him in that very same battle, due to Weed's wishes on sparing his enemies."

"What's his name?" I asked, almost furiously.

"His name was Buruge, the Demonic Warrior," Kyoushiro told me a in calm voice. "He was spared by Weed and accepted himself into the Ohu pack."

"Pfft," I snorted, turning my head away from the Kishu to glance in the direction of the male old one-eyed Kai-Ken, the male brown beaded-collared blind Great Dane, and the collared white female Saluki. "I'll believe that when I see it."

 ** _Jeez! Tamashi, cool yourself._**


	12. Chapter 12

"Ben? Kurotora? Cross?" I cautiously asked the three elderly dogs. "Do you three mind if I interact with you?"

"Sure you can," Cross greatly accepted my offer. She examined me from ear to tail, smiling in wonder. "You're very beautiful for a three-year-old female. You look able and strong as well."

"Unfortunately," I grimaced, "I'm not that skilled in fighting. The reason I wanted to converse with you three was because I was hoping you three could give me some information on your pasts."

"It began when Cross, myself, Smith, Great, and a few of my other commanders and pack members were racing to get to the _Leader_ ," Ben explained. "Gin, when he was just four months old, decided to tag along. So I gave him and a German Shepherd named John a trial: they'd have to cross the same gorge you had in order to meet the _Leader_. Gin – surprisingly – made the jump, but John was fighting a bear with so much bravery and determination. It made me realize that they were true fighters and we helped fight them off the bear."

"Who was your _Leader_?" I asked curiously. "Was it Gin?"

"The _Leader_ was a brown Akita with a yellow underbelly and three scars on his back, chest, and right cheek named Riki," Ben informed me. "He was . . . He was greater than any dog I've – that anyone, even the ones that didn't know him – had ever seen. He was mighty, strong, skilled, brave, and had a strong sense of justice."

"I would've liked to meet him," I muttered. "He sounds amazing." I blinked stupidly. "How did Kurotora come into the picture?"

"I had saved his life once when he was only a month old with his brothers, Akatora and Chutora," Ben explained. "A murderous dog named Tin brutally tore out his right Kurotora's right eye, but I managed to defeat him in a battle."

"Akatora? Chutora?" I tilted my head in confusion.

"My brothers," Kurotora informed me. "Akatora was a red Kai-Ken, while Chutora was brown with a missing ear." I watched as his single blue eye teared up. "We were all a team, just me and my two brothers. Even when we were no more than a month old, we' had killed a large snake by biting it to death."

"Wow!" I breathed with amazement. "Really?"

"Yes." Kurotora's single eye glimmered with fierce truth.

"Wait," I said, looking around. "I don't see your brothers around anywhere. Are they hunting? Are they used as scouts in Weed's pack?"

"My brothers are dead," Kurotora sighed, mournfully. "Akatora died before me and Chutora's eyes. When fighting with the demonic bear Akakabuto, the bastard bear had taken out his right eye. Deciding there was only one way to attack, Akatora had bitten into the bear's only eye – his other one have being shot by a hunter's – and blinded the bear. Unfortunately, it also left Akatora, my brother, dead."

"I'm sorry, Kurotora," I whispered, walking up to him and licking his tears that were falling from his only eye. "At least he died with pride. Anyone who would've died while taking the only eye out of an enemy was probably a true soldier."

"That's what I keep on telling my son," Kurotora smiled, gently licking my snout back. "If you're going to die, die laughing in the face of the enemy."

"Kurotora," I breathed with awe. "That's very wise of you, Kurotora."

"Please," Kurotora said, "call me Kuro."

I giggled. "Alright, Kuro." Straightening my posture, I asked, "What about Chutora? Is he dead as well?"

"Yes," Kuro muttered. "He was killed by wolves."

"Wolves?" I asked, baring my fangs. Maybe even before my demise, Scimitar had decided to inflict pain upon Kuro's only brother. What a heartless bastard!

"Yes." Ben was the one speaking now. "A wolf named Reima had once captured my mate and pups in order to learn about Gin's special attack. Luckily, Gin, John, Akame, and I had overthrown the wolves and their demonic leader Gaia."

" _You and Gin fought wolves_?" I asked, petrified by awe.

"Yes," Cross answered. "But some of them were good, like Re-"

"I don't believe that wolves are suddenly pure and innocent souls out of the blue," I hissed, baring my fangs. "Wolves are pure evil. Killing off many innocent dogs, slaughtering my family, brutally ending my mother's life!"

"Tamashi," Cross said in an almost comforting way, but I turned my head to the right and walked away.


	13. Chapter 13

"Young one," a deep voice said to me in a calm tone, causing me to turn my head to the left. Moss, Jaguar, and Musashi were gazing at me with curiosity. "You seem upset. Would you like to talk to us about your problems?"

"No," I admitted, shaking my head. "Not really." Glancing back up at Moss with a smile, I replied, "Buuut, I would like to hear more about your connections with Gin and Weed. All three of you seem like really powerful males."

"Well," Moss chuckled, "that's easy to explain. It began as a misunderstanding. A coward Weimaraner named Hyena had 'informed' me that my old friend Ben had planned to attack us. I'd sent Jaguar, my beloved son, on a scouting mission with his friend Lloyd. However, when one of my soldiers had brought me Lloyd's dead body, I had went into a rage and crushed Ben, unknowing that was exactly what a Doberman named Sniper wanted. It was only after Gin had convinced me that Jaguar was alive that I began to regret my decision in 'killing' Ben."

"But how did Ben come back alive?" I asked, completely confused.

"He managed to toss the boulder that was on him off his rather medium sized body," Moss smiled. "Ben is such a powerful dog, with incredible wisdom, strength, and endurance. It was only after he'd defeated me – pretty easily – in a short duel that I came to my senses and joined up with him and his pack of dogs along with my own pack of 50 dogs."

"You were a Leader?" I asked, amazed.

"Yes," Moss answered. "I was Moss, Monster of the Misty Mountains."

"Did you help in the killing of Akakabuto?" I asked. Judging by his massive size, I was sure that he was capable of handling that bear all by himself.

"Easily," Moss smirked. "I managed to flip the giant bastard over on his back just by grabbing his leg."

"Wow," I muttered, smiling. Finally having learning enough from Moss, I looked over at Musashi. "What about you?"

"I was one of the Twelfth Heavy Wight Champion fighting dogs," Musashi answered with pride in his voice. "The Kai-Kens had confronted me and asked me to join Gin's pack. I'd agreed but on my way, Kurotora and Chutora were captured by Sniper and held as hostages. Gin managed to show up and confront Bill, who was trying to decline Sniper's offer to join him. Sniper and Gin fought, but Gin gained the upper paw and swung the Doberman around, pinning his collar onto a branch."

"Wait!" I snapped. "So, Gin didn't kill him? After what Sniper had done to your son's friend, he still let him live?"

"It was because of his forgiveness that both Bill and I had joined up with Gin," Musashi said in a growl. "And if we hadn't joined up, we wouldn't have been able to make many new friends along the way, like Benizakura."

"'Benizakura'?" I echoed, titling my head to the left.

"Benizakura was another fighting dog, a Tosa," Musashi said with pride. "Like me, he had won many battles with many dogs. Unfortunately, he had lost both ears in that fight and left the dog fighting show in shame. A couple of years later, he had returned only to see his long-lost opponent suffer the same torment as he had. He intervened for a millisecond and left in that millisecond."

"What happened to him?" I questioned.

"He had joined up with Ben's pack, but wasn't one of the dogs to face Akakabuto," Musashi said with lowered eyes. "He'd sacrificed himself in order to drown a bear named Mosa, tying himself and the bear to a log. He wasn't able to break himself free without releasing the massive bear."

Sighing mournfully, I looked up at the sky, thinking to myself, _If you're going to die, die along with your enemy._ Glancing back up at the three massive dogs, I smiled, "Thank you for the history."

Turning away from the large dogs, I wandered over to Hiro and Reika, wanting to see if they had any more history lessons.


	14. Chapter 14

"Tamashi," a deep voice said to me from ahead. I stared ahead and saw Hiro and Reika, who were both smiling and affectionately licking each other.

"Hello, Hiro and Reika," I said to them politely, walking up to them. "What's up?"

"We were just noticing how beautiful you are," Reika smiled, wagging her tail. "Even for a three year old, you look pretty strong."

"Are you saying females can't be strong?" I asked with irritation. "Females have a lot of potential to be just as bad ass as the males! And anyone who says otherwise is just stupid!"

"Nobody's saying that, Tamashi," Hiro said calmly. "In fact, Reika has a sense of courage that is comparable to that of Weed's, as well as equaling her kindness and innocence."

"Oh," I realized, looking down at the ground. "I'm sorry."

"It's nothing to be ashamed of," Hiro said to me softly. "There was just a little miscommunication between us." After seeing me nod, he proceeded to ask me, "I noticed that you're asking everyone about the pasts of many of the dogs. Would you like to hear about Reika's and my own past?"

"Of course," I yelped with excitement, eager to hear some more history.

"Well," Hiro explained, "it began when a grey Irish Wolfhound named Kamakiri had killed my father right before my eyes. He'd also taken out my right eye on that very day. Ever since then, I had become bigger, stronger, and more ruthless towards my father's killer."

"What happened on your way?" I asked.

"I had a habit of castrating my enemies," Hiro admitted with a sheepish smile. "It was only after meeting Gin and John that I began to see a different light. And when Reika was held as a hostage, a couple of dogs – Lefty, Tomi, and Roshi – had helped me, Reika, and John escape. It was after making a promise to John that he wouldn't get killed that I'd realized how selfish I was as to let John die."

Tears welled up in his single green-blue eye. "But Reika managed to help pull me through my difficult times. After seeing Weed spare countless of his enemies, I realized that I too had to change myself for the better. Eventually, I did run across Kamakiri and defeated him by ripping out his upper canine fangs and tearing his balls off."

"Daaaamn!" I breathed, my eyes widening in shock. "Did you kill him?"

"I didn't have to," Hiro explained. "Crows had already circled him by the time Weed, his pack and I had left."

I bared my fangs and snarled, baring my fangs. "What if the crows hadn't finished him off? He would've killed you!"

Reika attempted to soothe me. "Tamashi," she said softly, "Hiro had taken out Kamakiri's upper canine fangs. Even if he was able to bite someone, or something, he wouldn't have gotten a good grip."

I muttered under my breath, "You're both idiots. You both need to get your heads out of your asses and think about the evil that could've followed."

"Watch your mouth, Tamashi," Hiro growled, stepping up to me.

"Tamashi?" Akame's voice called from my left, causing me to look at the white Kishu and the grey Shikoku. "Do you want to learn about the history of the Iga and Koga Ninja-Dogs?"

"Sure," I yelped with an excited wagging tail, eagerly bounding over to Akame and Tesshin.

 ** _Is it getting better? Please review._**


	15. Chapter 15

"What was the history between the Iga and Koga Ninja-Dogs?" I asked, excitedly.

"The Iga Ninja-Dogs were all Kishus like me," Akame told me, "while the Koga Ninja-Dogs were all Shikokus like Tesshin. I was the leader of the Iga clan while Tesshin's father was the Koga clan Leader."

"Wait," I gasped, "so Tesshin's father was a great Leader?"

"Great," Akame muttered, his red eyes narrowing in distaste, "but brutal. He was a black Shikoku named Kurojaki. He was merciless, cunning, and brutal. He always wielded a scythe in his jaws, easily slicing into his enemies as if they were made of leaves."

"What happened to him?" I asked curiously.

"Before the fight between his pack and Gin's," Tesshin explained, "Gin and his pack were convinced by his followers that we were his allies and lead into Akame's trap. Ben was poisoned by the spiked seeds that covered the ground outside of the Iga clan house. It was only after that it had happened that Akame realized that my father had set a trap for them all."

"Heartless son of a bitch," I hissed, baring my fangs.

"I managed to get the herbs to Ben and Gin's pack," Akame continued, "but Ben refused to take them. My friend had gotten lost along his way when we were going to attack the Koga clan, signifying that the poison was already taking its toll. It was then that Ben had asked me to make Gin the Leader."

"So that's why Gin was made the Leader of Ohu," I breathed, coming to a realization.

"But that position was just for the Leader of the Ohu pack," Tesshin explained, soon proceeding to tell me about the history of both opposing clans. "My father was ready to run away from the fight, but was soon stopped when a Collie named Wilson grabbed me – I was still a one-week old puppy at that time – by the neck and started swinging me around. My father rammed himself into Wilson and knocked the collie away, but also lost sight of me. When Cross came to my rescue and after Gin had defeated my father in battle, Gin had made it his promise to spare my father."

"WHAT?" I yelled with a mixture of shock and rage. "WHY?"

"Cross came to my rescue and told Gin that even though my father was bad he was still a father," Tesshin told me calmly. "Gin eventually told my father to leave, seeing how I was too innocent to be raised by own demonic father."

"Where did he go?" I asked through gritted fangs.

"Kurojaki had thrown himself in a fire that I'd set upon the Iga Ninja-clan house," Akame responded. "The dog didn't want his history of the clans to go extinct, so he sacrificed himself in said fire." He closed his eyes. "He died honorably."

I scoffed. "He died stupidly. Someone who would sacrifice himself over some little house over choosing to live _with his own son_ is so fucking stupid! What a coward!"

"My father was not a coward," Tesshin glared murderously at me.

"He was such a fool," I snarled back at him. "Throwing his life away for some damned scrolls when he could've repented and made a great Ohu warrior! Gin had told him to go instead of staying with you when you were just a puppy!? What an idiot Gin is!"

"Gin was my teacher, as well as Akame and John," Tesshin barked, narrowing his eyes at me with silent rage. "He was a proud leader, a good father, and an amazing mate."

"Tamashi," Akame told me in a voice that was simultaneously soft and cold, "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. I knew Kurojaki, personally knew him, on a strong level. I was his mortal enemy and, even though he threw his life away, I still felt that his death was honorable. He didn't want a monster like himself raising an innocent puppy like Tesshin had been."

"If you're curious about the redemption of so many of Weed's enemies," Tesshin looked over at the orange Borzoi, "maybe you should consult with Rocket. Maybe he can make you see a different light."

Sighing with frustration, I turned my back on the Iga and Koga Ninja-Dogs and made my way over to Rocket, expecting to hear the same damn bull crap.

 ** _Will NOTHING change Tamashi's mind? By the way, FireScorpion54 and Dark Scimitar, am I doing well? I'm sorry if it's nothing but drama, but character developments take time and Tamashi is not suddenly going to pop her head up and say "Okay I feel better and I want to make some peace", you know? Anyway, how are you guys liking it so far?_**


	16. Chapter 16

"Oy, Tamashi," Rocket's voice called out to me. There was a blur and – in merely five seconds – Rocket was no longer standing near Gajou but was now right before my eyes.

"You're fast," I observed with a smile.

"Thank you," Rocket nodded with politeness.

"So," I said, getting back to why Tesshin and Akame had convinced me to talk to him, "I heard that you were one of Weed's enemies that turned good?"

"Yes," Rocket answered. "I used to be one of Hougen's messengers along with my two brothers, giving him intel on what was going on with the Ohu pack and who to strike. At one point, I was ordered by him to capture Weed, but a black and cream German Shepherd assassin named Jerome had stopped all three of us from taking Weed."

"Was he about to kill you?" I demanded. "If not, why the hell are you still in the Ohu pack? Did you get off Scott-free?"

"No," Rocket answered with honesty, though I wasn't sure whether or not to fully trust him. "I had seen the kindness in Weed's eyes when he once spared one of Hougen's lower minions. Even though he was about to kill Weed, my Leader had decided to let him live, saying that he was scared. So I let him go."

"And you never heard from him again?" I growled in a threateningly way. "What if he came back and decided to attack Weed once more?"

"We've never, ever, heard from him again after that," Rocket assured me. "And I managed to change myself by saving Weed and GB from falling off a cliff. Jerome had been suspicious of me as well, but eventually accepted me into the pack after what I'd done."

"What have you been to Weed then?" I interrogated him. "A close friend? A loyal messenger? What about your brothers?"

"They were killed by Hougen," Rocket sighed, tears of anger welling up inside his eyes. "It was my motivation to join the Ohu army and take down Hougen. I didn't wish to be evil anymore."

"Oh that's just sooo typical," I scoffed. "I bet you only used your brothers just so you could take Weed yourself and get praised for it! You selfish bastard!"

Rocket bared his fangs. "I _loved_ my brothers." He specified the word love. "They were the _only_ family I'd ever had. But ever since Weed had allowed me into the pack, I had begun to love everyone as if they were my own family."

"Bull crap," I snorted, rolling my eyes. "If you really loved Weed and his pack members, you would've been more gentle with him and your own brothers when you left Hougen's side."

"If my proof isn't good enough for you," Rocket snapped, "maybe you should talk with Buruge, Kite, and Bat."

"Like hell I'll go listen to some more bullshit about how others have joined up with Weed just because of "one simple act of kindness'," I snapped, only to look to my right to see Kite, Buruge, and Bat tilt their heads to the side, motioning for me to come closer to them.

 ** _Oh my God, Tamashi!_**


	17. Chapter 17

"So who were you guys in your past?" I asked coldly. I wanted to be sure that I wasn't going to put my trust in some other, stupid ass traitors.

"We were once Hougen's soldiers," Kite answered, clawing at the ground with a metal paw. His eyes glimmered with trust as he resumed his story. "I was made his second commander, given my ability to move like a Ninja-dog and my razor sharp legs and paws. At first, my goal was much like Hougen's, who wanted to take revenge on all humans who abused him."

"How charming," I spat with venom, kicking up dust into Kite's eyes. As soon as he leaped back in shock, I glared at the other two dogs. "What about you bastards?"

"I was made Hougen's third commander," Bat responded, "with my abilities to see into the minds of others. I have an ability called the Mind's Eye, which allows me to read thoughts, make mental pictures of my enemies in my head, and communicate telepathically with some of my comrades."

"Oh suuuure!" I growled. "And you're going to tell me that you've changed your ways because of Weed?"

"Not because of Weed," Bat told me, "but because of Gin. I had sensed his kind and pure soul, as well as his strong fighting spirit. It made me – it made all three of us – ever regret joining up with Hougen."

"Bitch please!" I growled, snapping my fangs at the blind dog. "If you were any more stupid than you are blind, then you could have just worn a collar that read _I'm The Stupid One Today_!"

"Tamashi," Buruge tried to convince me, "take it easy. With Hougen dead, we have a new Leader to take care of."

"And backstab him when you no longer have any use for him?" I roared, grabbing Bat's hind leg in my teeth and swinging him around into both Buruge and Kite's bodies. As soon as they sprawled to the ground, I roared in their faces, "YOU THREE ARE FUCKING CROOKS, ROCKET INCLUDED! ALL FOUR OF YOU SHOULD'VE DIED IN THE FINAL BATTLE WHEN WEED WAS MADE THE LEADER! HE SHOULD HAVE RIPPED EVERY ONE OF YOU A NEW ASSHOLE WHEN YOU WERE ON THE GROUND, BEGGING FOR YOUR FUCKED UP LIVES!"

"Tamashi," Weed's voice growled from behind me, "what the hell is going on?"

"These heartless fuckers," I hissed, titling my head to the supernatural trio, "are going to die in the next fifteen seconds if you don't get your head out of your ass and wake up from your bullshit world of flowers and peace!"

"Tamashi," Weed warned, "you just barely got into the pack. Don't make me kick you out for doing something as stupid what you're doing right now. I won't allow any dark minds in to my pack!"

"But you'll allow such unredeemable fuck faces into your family?" I howled. "How do you know – How do you fucking know – that these idiots are even close to being redeemable?!"

"I won't warn you again, Tamashi." Weed was snarling like a wolf now. "Get out of my pack or I'll kick you out."

"YOU WANT ME TO FUCKING LEAVE? FINE!" I hollered back at him. "GO AHEAD! PLAY IN YOUR LITTLE FANTASY WORLD! LIFE ISN'T FULL OF HAPPINESS! LIFE IS A LITERAL SHIT PILE THAT YOU HAVE TO SWIM THROUGH IN ORDER TO GET TO YOUR PRECIOUS PEACE! SOMETIMES, EVEN THEN, PEACE DOESN'T GET YOU ANYWHERE!"

"Get OUT, Tamashi!" Weed roared, causing me to nearly shit in horror.  
Finally having enough of his bullshit, I ran away from the pathetic bitch ass excuse of a "Leader".

 ** _OMG TAMASHI! :P_**


	18. Chapter 18

How in the world can such great dogs be so fucking naïve? What if Kite, Bat, Buruge, and Rocket _hadn't_ reformed?

Kite had said that his main goals equaled that of Hougen's, which included killing off all of the humans just because of one little 'abuse'. Why fucking stop his goals just because Gin said so?

Bat had explained that he had the _choice_ to look into Hougen's mind, but decided not to because he was a fucking, wussy, tag-along BITCH! But after seeing Gin's "great and powerful" mind, he just decided to turn on the "good" switch? You've got to be _killing_ me!

Both Rocket and Buruge _seemed_ like gentlemen, but how could I be sure that they weren't more than willing to backstab their "leader" as well?

Nobody just turns good just because somebody told them to! Nobody just turns innocent and pure just because of one . . . measly . . . pathetic . . . act of stupid ass kindness! Nobody! Not even . . . him! Not even the devil of a wolf who had massacred my entire life – my entire family – before my eyes!

If it were _my_ way, I'd have killed those bastards without a second of hesitation! They wouldn't be shown any type of damned mercy after their eyes turned blank! After their throats were spilling blood! After they were decaying slowly, with ripped open stomachs and rotten flesh! Not even after the crows picked from their fucking carcasses!

DAMN IT ALL!

Finally having enough of these rage-written thoughts, I threw my head back and howled in utter fury.

 ** _I know you're probably getting tired of Tamashi's supposedly bitchy attitude, but it takes a while for a character to grow into who they really want to be._**


	19. Chapter 19

After howling my eyes out, I finally ran as fast as my legs would carry me. My fur was flying in the wind, my tail lopping up and down like a cape. I felt my heart pounding even louder as I impulsively leaped over the gorge that gave entrance to Gajou, not even bothering to celebrate when I had successfully crossed the wide gorge. Without looking back, I had made at least twenty-five miles outside of Futago's Pass.

It then came to me as I felt my stomach rumble. I hadn't realized how hungry I had been. The sharp pains in my belly felt like a thousand bear claws stabbing me from the inside.

Before I could even think about eating though, a soft, painful whimper came from the bushes ahead of me. A part of me wanted to go check it out, but what if it was a trap? What if Scimitar was already here, ready to lure me into letting my guard down?

But the pain I was hearing was real. And a female's voice was whispering, "Help. Someone help."

I had to be cautious. I had to be on guard at all times. For all I know, this could have been one of Scimitar's traps.

As soon as I peeked my head through the shrubs ahead of me, I realized it was true. A pure white Kishu was with a red collar on her neck and amber eyes was whimpering painfully, her left hind leg caught in some kind of steel trap.

Still, I had to be aware. After glancing at the small area around me, after sniffing the air, and listening for even the slightest crack of a twig, I realized that we were totally alone.

With that, I slowly approached the trapped white dog. "Excuse me, miss," I asked, trying to keep my voice as polite and kind as possible, "are you alright? Do you need help?"

"Oh thank you so very much," the Kishu responded with a grateful smile. "What's your name?"

"Tamashi," I answered, grabbing the steel trap in my jaws and pulling the clawed inside to the right. "Get out now!"

As soon as the trap was open, the Kishu pulled her paw away from the trap, finally becoming free. She stood up to her paws and glanced over at her wounded hinds leg. Before I could ask if she would be okay, she gave me a look of reassurance in her amber eyes.

Nodding, I asked, "What's your name?"

"Koyuki," she responded with a smile. "Tamashi? Would you like to meet my pack?"

I really didn't want to. After seeing as how I was kicked out of Weed's pack, just because I was expressing my anger, anger towards Weed's pathetic sense of moral, I didn't want to join anyone's pack. After all, I was alone all throughout my three years. Why bother looking for a new pack now?

Unfortunately, if I didn't take this chance now, I wouldn't be able to find a new family at all. And I would only be doing what Scimitar would want me to do . . . stay alone, helpless, and revenge written.

Finally sighing with agreement, I nodded my head and allowed Koyuki to lead me to her pack.

 ** _Yes, yes, yes! Koyuki's in here! Are you excited? Because a few more familiar faces are going to appear in the next chapter._**


	20. Chapter 20

I followed Koyuki fourteen miles away from Futago's Pass down a thorn filled road. The spikes from the tall bushes surrounded us in a single file line like trees. The dirt beneath us was covered in tiny, but sharp rocks that pricked me every time I took a step. Finally, after the four minutes of walking down sharp ground, I was led by Koyuki to a cave entrance that was blocked by large thorns, leaving only a small hole to be the only entrance into the cave.

Looking back at sharp, jagged path behind me, I felt like it would provide enough security for anyone already inside the hidden cave. Gazing back at the cave entrance before me, I went down on my paws and began to crawl beneath the gate of thorns.

It was painful, but I dare not shed a tear of pain. If I was going to have a new family, I had to be strong.

Bearing through the pain, I finally reached the inside of the cave. It was exceedingly large, possibly having a dozen entrances and exits to escape from. It wasn't like Gajou, but it was large, more than enough room to fit eighty dogs in – possibly even more. Unlike the ground to the entrance to the cave, the dirt beneath me was covered in soft, green moss. Much like the ground, the walls of the cave were glowing with the same luminous moss.

"We have been hiding here ever since the defeat of Hougen," Koyuki informed me. "If you want, I can show you to the others."

"Sure," I offered, allowing her to take me to another room of the cave.

There I came face to face with a black and cream colored German Shepherd with one ear, a dog who looked like he could've been Weed's brother, and – ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! – three wolves.

One of the wolves was a pale blue color, much like Weed's fur. He had a long scar running diagonally across his face, from which his right eye had also been damaged. His remaining left eye was a sparkling blue.

The other wolf was the same pale blue color, but instead he had both of his golden eyes and a strange Mohawk tipped his forehead like Tesshin's

The final wolf was black, but had dark grey legs and belly. Strange eye markings like a German Shepherd's crossed from underneath his eyes and a light grey snout was the only thing that was actually light colored on his body.

"Tamashi," Koyuki said, "allow me to introduce you. This is Jerome–" She tilted her head towards the one-eared Shepherd, "–Joe–" I smiled gleefully at the Weed look alike, "–Retsuga–" The one eyed wolf smiled politely, though I proceeded to glare at him, "–Hyouma–" The wolf with the Mohawk smirked and winked at me, "– and Mugen." The grey wolf whimpered and slunk into a corner of the cave, tucking his tail between his legs.

I growled viciously, raising my tail up high and bristling my fur. "What the hell are you doing hanging out with damned wolves?!"

"We're a family, Tamashi," Retsuga told me in a calm and soft voice. "We are the 'Forgotten Ones', dogs or wolves whose names have been erased from history. Hyouma, Mugen, and I were once wolves from the underworld. However, after Gin had defeated an enemy of ours, the underworld began to collapse, leaving only the three of us to survive."

"I," Jerome said, "was one of Weed's best fighters, his mentor, and one of his best friends. However, after being kicked out of his pack, I had decided to go off on my own."

"I was Weed's brother," Joe told me, sending a chill of realization and shock through my spine. "However, before I could go to make contact with him, I ended up being swept away from my old hometown. That's when Jerome, the wolves, and Koyuki found me."

"No wonder you look just like him," I whispered, smiling at Joe. "I swear that'll be a neat trick to use against your opponents. Having two 'Weeds', not knowing which is which. An enemy will be going for Weed only to be tricked as soon as Joe finally ambushes them."

"So," Koyuki asked, "Tamashi? Will you be staying with us?"

I glared menacingly at the wolves before me. It would be as hard _as fucking hell_ to even think about getting anywhere _near_ a **damned** wolf after what had happened in my past! Even if they seemed wise, cocky, or even fearful, I wouldn't give a fucking inch unless they proved to me that I could trust them!

Jerome, Joe, and Koyuki on the other hand were dogs. Koyuki had a sense of innocence and kindness. Joe seemed so much like Weed, but maybe there was something more to him other than his brother's pitifully naïve nature. And there was something interesting about Jerome . . . something pretty damn cool about him.

Breathing out in concealed rage, I finally uttered, "Alright. I'll stay."

 ** _Gosh darn it, Tamashi. Is it getting better?_**


	21. Chapter 21

I walked up to Jerome first, very intrigued by him. His eyes held a certain wisdom and courage that seemed comparable to Gin's. And although he didn't bear a single scar, when he spoke to me I knew that he'd been through a lot.

"You came to see me, Tamashi?" he asked.

"Yeah," I responded with a smile. "You just seem so . . . cool. Like you have a lot to say, but are hiding some secrets." Shaking my head, I kept an expression of restrained excitement on my face. "Do you know Weed?"

"Yes," Jerome told me with a proud nod. "I was once an assassin, sent to hunt down and kill monstrous, genetically enhanced dog called Kaibutsu. At first, it began with me and Kaibutsu trying to comfort each other when the scientists were doing such awful experiments on him. I tried to convince him that it would all be worth it in the end, but eventually his rage settled in and he escaped from the laboratory P4."

I didn't know what to say after that. Having a dog being experimented on so much that he was running around and killing humans for his torture? At first, a part of me wanted to silently congratulate the monster – he _deserved_ to kill all those humans who had mercilessly experimented on him!

"Did he just kill humans?" I asked, curiously.

"No," Jerome responded. "He also went after dogs as well, even killing off me and a pack of my assassin subordinates who were trying to hunt him down."

A confused spark of light went off in my mind. Maybe it was wrong to congratulate Kaibutsu on his rampage. I understood why he went after _humans_ , but what did the dogs have anything to do with it?

"Then, I met Weed," Jerome told me, causing me to blink in surprise. "It turns out that he had been attacked by the monster as well. It was only after he had crossed the gorge that led to Gajou that I realized his strength. I then took it upon myself to have him to be the one to lure Kaibutsu out of Gajou. Unfortunately, the plan failed as one of the commanding officers of Ohu – a three legged Spanish Setter named Smith – was ultimately killed, while Kaibutsu was still alive."

"What happened after that?" I asked, wanting to learn more.

"Me and my subordinates had attempted to kill Kaibutsu, but all three of my friends ended up being killed before they could rip out an vulnerable spot on his chest. I was then that I had bitten him in that very wound in order to kill him, but eventually I had been pulled right off and thrown into a river."

"Wait!" I sputtered. "So, who exactly killed Kaibutsu?"

"Weed killed him," Jerome told me, causing me to gape in utter confusion. "I had poked my head through the water just in time to see Weed headbutt Kaibutsu over the cliff and use the wind to impale the genetic mutated dog onto a tree spike."

"Weed did that?" I whispered, unable to believe my ears. "How old was he?"

"Weed was no more than six months old at that time," Jerome replied, causing me to frown in regret.

"What did Kaibutsu look like?" I proceeded to ask.

"Kaibutsu was a German Shepherd, but he was genetically enhanced," Jerome explained. "He had been turned into a wolf-like creature, added with a long mane. He had no skin on his left front leg or the left side of his chest. Chains were hanging out of his hips and some strange scales covered his upper thighs. He was massive – roughly twelve feet tall from paw to the very tip of his head and thirty feet long from nose to tail."

I gaped at Jerome with amazement. "Weed . . . a mere six-month-old puppy . . . brutally killed such a monster?" Smiling at the Shepherd before me, I asked, "How long did you hold onto Kaibutsu's wound, compared to your other subordinates?"

"While Robert, Rocca, and Hoiler could only hold on for far less than a minute," Jerome said, "I managed to clamp onto his wound for roughly three minutes. I was even suffocated, but even then I still managed to have a strong grip around his heart."

"That's sooo BAD ASS, Jerome!" I cheered, leaping upon him and playfully nipping at his belly. I heard him chuckle with amusement and felt his fangs clamp softly around my neck, slowly pulling me away from him.

"Wait," I said, "so how did you exactly lose yourself from Weed's pack? Were you lost?"

"No," Jerome simply said. "I was banished from his pack, trying to save him by killing two Foxhound spies."

"WHAT?" I roared, baring my fangs in rage. "He KICKED YOU OUT JUST BECAUSE YOU WERE DOING SOME GOOD FOR HIM?!"

"I felt I deserved it, Tamashi," Jerome said in a calm voice. "Even after reforming thanks to Weed, I had felt that there was a sense of darkness inside of me. So, I felt like I had to do the dirty work in order to spare Weed from doing such a harsh things himself."

"Jerome . . ." I whispered, not knowing what to say to that. It was totally unjustified that Weed had banished Jerome – one of his best friends and fighters – from his pack all because Jerome was trying to help him! Besides, the Foxhounds would have struck back at him – possibly in an ambush! Jerome was doing him a favor! What a naïve little shit!

"But," I resumed to ask, "what happened that led you to this place?"

"Four weeks after my banishment, I had made it my goal to take down Hougen," Jerome explained. "I would have won, but he was too strong and threw me into a river. It was then that Weed jumped in after me and got me to safety, along with Ken, Kagetora, Hiro, and Moss. I was brought to a human named Daisuke, who helped heal my injuries from the river. Now look where I am."

"Did Daisuke finally heal you?" I asked him curiously. "If you are completely healed, why don't you return to Weed? I'm sure he'd understand why you couldn't return."

"I don't want Weed to see that one of his traitors come back to him," Jerome said, dipping his head in shame. "He had ordered me to leave and never come back. It was an order I dare not refuse."

Sighing with frustration, I shook my head. "You shouldn't act in shame. You were trying to do some good for Weed, and he – being the naïve little brat he was – decided to kick you out for all the wrong reasons. It was never your fault, alright Jerome?"

"He was the Leader," Jerome told me calmly. "I had to obey his orders."

Scoffing with irritation, I spit on the ground and scratched at the wet dirt with a paw in disgust. Feeling as if Joe would knock some sense into me, I walked away from the Shepherd and over to the Weed look alike.

 ** _Jeez! Will Tamashi never get along with ANYONE?_**


	22. Chapter 22

"Joe?" I asked the dog who very much resembled (appearance wise) Weed in every way. "Do you mind if I talk with you?"

"Sure, Tamashi," Joe said with a smile. "What do you want to talk about?"

"I'm . . ." I hesitated. Was it right for me to share my own past with dogs I just barely met? After, they had been patient with _me_ when _I_ had asked them about _their_ pasts.

"I came from a very bad past," I explained.

"How so?" Joe asked patiently.

"Three years ago, my pack – my original family – was killed off by a devil of a wolf named Scimitar," I told him. "I was barely a two-week-old puppy at that time. I was forced to watch my mother, who looked exactly like me in all ways, get slaughtered before my eyes. I had to listen to that bastard wolf boast about his slaughters of so many packs and not feel an ounce of remorse afterwards. He only left me alive just so I could witness the downfall of my pack . . . of my life."

"I'm sorry, Tamashi," Joe said, licking my forehead in comfort. "What did you do during those three years?"

"I went on a rampage," I answered, lowering my head. "I went off killing any evil dog I could find, whether they were a puppy abuser, female rapist, warlord, or even just a simple bully. However, when I had killed an six-year-old dog who was hurting an elderly Red and White Setter, he had told me that I should forgive instead of trying to kill mercilessly. He told me that if I killed without remorse, I would become just like the monster who had made my life a living hell."

"Well, the elder dog was kind of right," Joe said, causing me to gape at him in rage. "If you just go on a rampage killing everyone, how are you ever going to know kindness? How are you ever going to know what the dog you're killing is really like unless you get to know him first?"

"Oh shit," I growled, digging my claws into the ground. "More forgiving your enemy bullshit."

"He's right, Tamashi." From the corner of my right eye, I saw Retsuga stare at me with a calm and kind look. "When I was only two years old, a wolf named Noroi had killed my mother and scarred me. And, although I'd felt rage, I didn't go so low as to hurt my own kind, no matter what they had done."

"Retsuga," I breathed, shaking my head. "Why should I stop with my merciless killing when I'm already growing stronger with every passing year?"

"Vengeance does not make you strong," Jerome wise voice came from behind me, causing me to turn my head around. "In fact, if you're too clouded by hatred and revenge, then you're no more of a monster than Kaibutsu was. You're going to have to open your eyes and see that there's something more to life than just revenge. You have to open your heart and find love, even in the darkest times. Maybe, even with something or someone you swore never to love."

"But . . ." I didn't know what to say to that. "But how exactly will I find such love in such a dark time?"

"You'll find out someday," Jerome said with a reassuring smile. "You just have to wait and see."

Lowering my head, I really did not want to listen to Jerome or Retsuga's words. However, something in my heart told me that they were right.

 ** _Please review!_**


	23. Chapter 23

"You said that you three were wolves from the underworld?" I asked, apprehensive about their true personalities. "How did that come about?"

"All wolves were born from the underworld," Retsuga explained. "It began when a monstrous eight-headed serpent attacked the wolves, with Black Wolf being the ancient leader. The wolves – including my father, Reima – managed to kill the serpent and regain the underworld as our newfound home."

"With Reima as the father of me and Purple Wolf being the father of a cruel, insane one-eyed wolf named Gaia," he proceeded, "we decided to go our separate ways. It wasn't until Gin had brought down Akakabuto with the Zetsu Tenrou Battouga that we wolves began to interfere with the dogs of Ohu."

"My father had brought Cross and her puppies to the underworld as bait for Gin, knowing fully well that he'd come and save them," he told me. "But he was far from being evil. He was actually impressed by Gin's skill and strength and even proved that if he could help take down the evil Gaia with his pack of three dogs – Ben, Akame, and John – he'd be considered one of the wolves."

"Did he win?" I asked eagerly.

"Gin managed to severely wound Gaia with the Zetsu Tenrou Battouga," Retsuga told me, not giving me any information on what the Zetsu Tenrou Battouga actually was. "After seeing what Gin had done, Gaia decided to flee. However, both Gaia and Reima faced off in one last battle to the death, just as the underworld literally came crumbling down on them. The only few that actually survived were myself, my son Hyouma, and Mugen. The other wolves that hadn't been killed by my soldier's or Gaia's had all faced death when the underworld came apart."

"How many wolves were there?" I asked curiously.

"A wolf named Thousand Dragon actually had a thousand wolf soldiers that could transform into a dragon's head," Retsuga explained, causing me to blink in disbelief. "There were actually Eight Warrior wolves of Sirius, one side of dark and another of light."

"Let me guess," I sighed, knowing the obvious answer, "Gaia was one of the soldiers of dark."

"But," Hyouma told me, "not all wolves from the light were pure-hearted. A wolf named Shuuga was cruel and sadistic, despite being a warrior of light. He killed others – dogs or wolves – and placed their bodies in plain sight for all to see, enjoying his gruesome slaughter."

"Did John, Ben, or Akame kill him?" I asked.

"He committed suicide," Hyouma answered. "He was afraid of losing and bearing the shame that followed, so he jumped into a river of boiling hot lava."

I didn't know what to make of these other wolves. I would have never guessed that there would be wolves warriors of both light and darkness. Or that wolves would have gained attacks from eating some serpent's flesh.

Although it shocked me, I was still reluctant to make friends with these wolves, no matter what they said they've done. What if these wolves were lying about being friends with Gin, Ben, Akame, and John? What if all they were trying to do was get me on their good side and finally backstab me?

"So," I proceeded to ask, "how many warriors were there?"

"There were eight warriors of each side of light and dark," Retsuga told me. "There was Fuga, Hyouma, myself, Hyakkiga, Shuuga, Raiga, Suiga and Mukonga as the light warriors. And with the dark warriors, there were Black Snake, Gold Eye, White Tiger, and Big Horn."

"Why were there only half of the wolves for the dark warriors?" I asked, my interest slowly peeking through.

"Only certain wolves ate the flesh of the serpent in order to become stronger," Hyouma answered. "And with the flesh we ate, we gained the Battougas."

"What exactly is a Battouga?" I asked, tilting my head to the left.

"It's a special attack that is only performed by the wolves," Retsuga replied, "though Gin, Ben, Akame, and Kurotora were special enough to follow with these attacks."

"Gin had learned the attack of a wolf?" I asked, gasping in shock. Finally feeling such a dark and powerful shame loom over my head, I dug my head into the moss beneath me and sobbed bitterly.

How could I have been so cruel in my thoughts and words towards Gin? He had been a great leader, before and after his battle with Akakabuto. He knew he couldn't defeat Akakabuto all on his own, so he'd gathered dogs in order to help bring down that bear. Dogs who held just as much power, strength, stamina, and willpower as the massive monster.

And to hear that he had fought wolves, befriended them, and even gained their attacks – along with his friends, a burning fire of regret burned inside my chest. I coughed and ended up sobbing as I hacked, unable to stop myself from weeping.

Gin had been a wonderful leader, so much so that had decided to pass on his heritage to his sons. Sons who had the same amount of courage and kindness as he had.

Lifting my head, I breathed out and glanced at the one-eyed wolf with gentleness. "If only I could tell Gin that I was sorry," I muttered.

"Maybe if you stayed with us," Mugen suggested, "you might see things differently. It doesn't have to be for a year or so, but maybe if you got to know us first."

Sighing, I opened my mouth and gave out an answer . . . "Alright. I'll stay with you. All of you – Retsuga, Hyouma, Mugen, Jerome, and Joe. If all of you prove to me that you can be trusted, then I'll stay with you."

"Alright," Mugen said with a nod. Hyouma smirked. Jerome winked at me. Retsuga bowed his head politely. Joe beamed with joy.

 ** _*sigh* Finally. Tamashi's learning how to deal with the situation before her. How to cope with Gin's past, his true nature, and even some background on the wolves. How do you like it so far? Please review._**


	24. Chapter 24

"Jerome? Joe?" I asked them, beginning to hesitate. "I wasn't the strongest dog when a certain wolf destroyed my pack, leaving me scarred mentally and emotionally for life. Even now, I still don't know my own strength, nor do I have any willpower within me whatsoever. Would you two consider in training me?"

"Of course, Tamashi," Jerome answered with a nod. "Since you're a medium sized dog, I shall teach you most of my basic assassin skills – speed, endurance, agility, skill, fangs and claw power."

Retsuga added, "Hyouma, Mugen, and I will help you improve on those skills. Since we're wolves, we have more than six years of fighting on our paws. When you're done training with Jerome, we'll help you exceed your basic techniques."

I growled. I really did not want any training from wolves, no matter how kind or nice they might seem. The last thing I wanted to do was be taught by the same breed of wolf that killed my family.

Still, I knew I had no choice. I wouldn't know when or if the bastard Scimitar would strike. In order to make sure he would completely die, I had to be trained.

Sighing with frustration, I nodded my head. "Alright. I'll allow you to train me."

"Follow me," Jerome tilted his head to the entrance of the cave. I followed him outside of the cave, away from the path of thorns, and into an area surrounded by tall leafless trees.

"Here," Jerome proceeded to instruct me, "you will begin your basic training. Let's start you off with your jumping skills. Can you jump high or far?"

"Well," I admitted, "I made the jump across the gorge in order to make it towards and away from Gajou."

"So be it," Jerome said. "We shall start you off with your jumping abilities." He pointed to a branch on a tree to the left of me. "I want you to jump as high as you possibly can and reach that branch. You may have a running start if you're nervous."

"Thank you, Jerome," I said to him, backing away while still keeping my eyes on the targeted branch. Breathing out, I sprinted as fast as I could towards the branch. Planting all four paws onto the ground, I sprung my body up as high as I could, opening my mouth and expecting my fangs to connect with the branch. Unfortunately, I didn't reach high enough and landed on my chest, growling with anger and getting right back up.

"I can see that you don't have much experience in jumping," Jerome observed. "You'll need to get more power in your legs."

"Alright," I responded with a nod, wanting to try again. Turning around and backing away from the tree, I sprinted at full speed towards the tree. Once more, I planted all of my paws onto the ground and leaped as high as I could into the air, opening my mouth and aiming for the branch. This time, my fangs barely nipped the tree, causing me to fall onto my chest.

"Shit," I muttered, scratching at the ground with my back paws.

"Try again," Jerome encouraged me, causing me to look at the Shepherd with awe. Never in all the three years I'd lived had anyone ever told me such words of courage. Such reassurance. But Jerome had some sort of faith in me when I couldn't see it in myself. I wondered if he was the same way when he was with Weed's pack . . .

Nodding, I came to the realization that – possibly with Jerome's help – I would be able to succeed in the task of jumping. Maybe even in the tasks that came after that. "Aright!" I announced.

Preparing myself, I raced towards the branch at full speed, planting all four paws on the ground and leaping up as high as I could into the air. This time, as I neared the branch, I opened my mouth and – wait! What? – _clamped my teeth around said branch_! I gritted my fangs to make sure that I wasn't dreaming. The taste of the stale bark on my tongue was more than enough proof. I wildly pawed at the air to make sure I wasn't on the ground, my eyes narrowing downwards to see that my entire body was supported by the branch!

"What the hell?" I gasped, still gripping the branch in my fangs.

"Well done, Tamashi," Jerome congratulated me. "You may let go now."

Right after Jerome had said that, I instantly released my hold on the branch, falling clumsily to my paws. Glancing back up at the branch I had bitten, I couldn't help with smile with glee. I had made the jump and got to the branch!

"Though one little jump isn't going to make you strong," he told me, leading me back to the spikey-rock laid path. "Here's your next challenge. If you can jump as far as you can high, then you should be able to leap across this path without even touching one of the rocks."

Inhaling, I once more backed away from the targeted spot, doubt slowly creeping into my mind. I jumped high enough, but would I leap just as far? If I had made it as high as a jump as before, maybe I could reach as far of a distance as well. After all, (1) "the only real failure is when you don't try".

Howling, I made my way towards the path, planting all four paws onto the ground and kicking off like any other dog would. Once more, I was into the air and pushing myself as far as I could in order to make it to the other side.

Weed had believed that I could cross the gorge straight to Gajou, which I had succeeded. He told me that I could do it even when I didn't have self-confidence. He urged me to at least attempt to make the jump, even if he knew I would plummet to my death. He didn't even know me for a day, yet he still convinced me to leap across!

The same was with Jerome, a dog who I'd just barely begun to interact with. Whom I'd never seen before, whom I barely got to know at least twenty minutes ago! Even when he didn't know me, he still had enough friendliness to know what I needed from him. He still had enough knowledge to understand my pain and give me the words (though very small) I needed to push on.

I had to believe in myself. I had to find the inner courage I kept locked away all of these years. I had to find my willpower, willpower that had possibly been sleeping within me. I had to see the other side of the rock-ridden road, the other plain, soft, and flat sand before me. With every second that passed, I could see the flat side of the ground getting closer and closer towards me. A smile bloomed across my lips as I saw my paws inch by inch nearer the even ground.

A gasp of joy escaped my lips as I skidded to the flat surface of the ground – flawlessly! I flited my paws to see if I had made any pinpricks in my paws, only to discover that they were none.

"I did it?" I whimpered to myself, confused. Lifting my head up and I saw Jerome, standing across the road and smiling at me. "I did it?" I repeated, finally narrowing my eyes at the road – flat and still rock-ridden – before me. "Holy shit!" I yelled with joy. "I actually did it!"

"Splendid, Tamashi," Retsuga smiled, as he stepped up next to me. "It seems you're learning well."

"So," I asked, cautiously eager, "what's next?" If I had made my jumping abilities impressive, maybe my next trial – whatever it'd be – would prove even greater for me.

"You're going to be taught in your strength," Hyouma told me. "Just jumping far and high isn't nearly enough in battle."

"How?" I asked curiously. "Do I have to push down boulders or headbutt trees?"

"Not necessarily," Joe, who had exited the cave with the wolves, replied. He nimbly stepped over the sharpened rock road – along with Retsuga and Hyouma – and titled his head to the right, motioning me to follow.

Nodding, I followed Joe, the wolves, and Jerome into a circle of trees, which seemed to form like a fortress around us. "How exactly am I going to prove my strength in this confined area?" I asked, tilting my head to the right.

"You're going to have to fight us," Retsuga said, causing me to gape in shock. "This will prove the basic of your strength. Akitas don't have the necessary muscle power to move trees or boulders."

"So," Hyouma said with a smirk, "in order to prove your physical strength, you're going to have to fight the three of us – one by one. Only if after you defeat us, you can fight all of us at the same time."

"You get to choose who your opponent will be," Jerome said, "though I can't promise you it will be an easy battle."

I hesitated, looking from every one of my . . . acquaintances. Retsuga and Hyouma were strong-looking wolves, possibly having years of experience in fighting. Joe was the brother of Weed, probably having months of training. Jerome, as he'd told me, had once been an assassin sent to kill a genetically mutated monster of a German Shepherd.

I wanted to fight someone who would provide a challenge for me, but still inform me on what I was doing wrong. Hyouma seemed too cocky and Joe was still too young. It finally came down to only two options – Jerome or Retsuga. Inhaling, I breathed out deeply and my eyes settled on only one figure . . .

"Jerome," I told him, "I would like for you to train me in my physical strength."  
"I understand, Tamashi," he said with a nod of his head. "But, it's not just your physical strength we're testing. It's also your mental and emotional prowess. Being physically strong is not enough in a fight."

As soon as he said the words "mental and emotional prowess", my heart sank. What type of training would Jerome put me through with those strengths? Those strengths of which I was seriously lacking? Those strengths which had been taken away from me since I was only a month old?

"Alright," I sighed with great disappointment, "if you say so." Clearing my throat, I asked in a normal tone, "So, do I just have to . . . fight you?"

"I want to observe your fighting style," he said, "whether you're impulsive and violent or calm and skilled. From there, you can improve or level out your style of fighting."

"But," I protested, "all I want to do is make my enemies suffer the same pain they've inflicted on me!"

"Fighting is more than just about hitting your opponents, Tamashi," Jerome told me calmly. "You must have strength, skill, speed, accuracy, agility, and fang and claw power to compensate for your reckless attacking."

Sighing with anger, I lowered my head, "Alright. I understand."

It happened in less than a millisecond. When I lifted my head, I saw a blur and I felt the wind get knocked out of me as soon as the figure slam its head into my chest, knocking me on my back. Coughing, I gasped and struggled to look up at Jerome, only to feel teeth clamp down on my right hind leg and swing me around in a circle.

"Jerome," I struggled to say, my voice still sore from coughing, "put me down."

"Not until you fight back," Jerome said, continuing to whirl me around like a tornado.

That's it! If he wouldn't let go of my leg, I would make him let go!

After the sixth spin, I curved my body around as much as possible and bared my fangs, aiming for Jerome's left flank. Opening my mouth as wide as it possibly could, I bit deep into the Shepherd's side and tore viciously, causing Jerome to hiss in pain.

"Clever, Tamashi," he muttered proudly, still gripping my leg. "But it's going to take a lot more than just a flank bite to injure me."

He wanted a lot more? I would give him a lot more!

Before he could swing me around again, I kicked at his eye with my other leg, making him grimace and release my leg. He turned his head around to shake away the pain, only for me to recklessly run up to him and headbutt him into the injured side. He stumbled and rolled around, blood seeping from the wound. Smiling painfully, he gave me a wink.

"Adding insult to injury," he mused with a smirk. "Very clever of you, Tamashi."

I watched as he limped, watching as his intestine dripped out of his flank. The organ was exposed, ready for me to tear it right out of the Shepherd's side. I leaped for the long and revealed organ, only to be kicked in the face by Jerome's hind paws. Letting out a grunt of pain, I threw my head back, only to be headbutted in the skull and sent a few feet away

"Crap," I muttered, grimacing in pain. I felt as if I'd been headbutted in my skull by a ram. Except this ram was actually a German Shepherd with assassin abilities.

"Don't expect your enemy to fight fairly, Tamashi," Jerome hinted me. "Don't let a feigned injury be the result of your momentary confusion. In that time, your opponent would've already won."

"Thanks for the advice," I muttered, shaking my head in pain. "Jeez! That hurt!"

"You can't let one little injury slow you down," Jerome cautioned. "You'll have to ignore the pain – bear through it as much as your willpower can – and eventually you'll find a way to win."

"Right," I growled with slight annoyance, "as if my emotional pain was dragging me down enough."

"Tamashi," Jerome said to me calmly, but as soon as I turned my head to face the Shepherd, _he headbutted me and knocked me over on my back_! Before I could react, he pressed a paw down on my throat and glared at me with a stern gaze that would've froze Scimitar in place. "You'll need to get your head out of your doubt and low self-esteem. _That_ . . . will be your greatest enemy. If you can't face what you were in the past, how are you ever going to grow into what you want to become?"

"Jerome . . ." I breathed, feeling his paw lift away from my throat. This was no ordinary German Shepherd. This was a wise, calm, and collected dog who would've been a great Leader if Weed wasn't currently the Leader. Still, I felt as if he was the Leader of this small pack and he seemed like a perfect fit.

Joe, though he was Weed's brother, looked strong but he was too young. I still was not ready to trust Retsuga, Hyouma, or Mugen because they were wolves due to my past. Koyuki looked sweet and kind, but didn't have a sense of leadership around her.

Shaking away my thoughts, I stood up to my paws and faced Jerome, waiting for more of his instructions. "Now, I'm going to test you out on your mental strength," he told me. "In order for you to become stronger in mind, you must ignore your past horrors and continue to fight. Normally, a villain of any sort would mock you of your weak will, taunting you of your past. But, much like your earlier training, you have to abandon your emotional pain and push on through as hard as you can."

"How exactly are you going to do that?" I asked, not really wanting to hear the answer.

"You told me of your past, right?" Jerome grinned. "I'm going to play the role of the bastard, trying to get you to push you back into your shell of despair and hopelessness. You, on the other hand, will have to resist it and shoot something back at me. This test will determine how strong your willpower is."

"Oh shit," I muttered, lowering my head.

"This is for your benefit, Tamashi," Jerome told me in a calm voice. "If you want to be strong, you can't rely on brute strength alone. Do you understand?"

"Yes," I muttered with a sigh. "I understand." Shaking my head, I regained my composure and faced Jerome with fierce (but slightly shaken) determination. "You may push your test upon me."

"Alright," Jerome told me while staring into my eyes. His own were playing with a strangely devious light and the wise tone in his voice turned old and sadistic. "Who are you, Tamashi, to think that you can ever even think about defeating your greatest enemy and reclaiming a new family? Who are you to say that you even have the strength to avenge your precious pack?"

Instantly, my heart sank as Jerome spoke such harsh words that made me doubt my strength. What he was saying was true. How would I be able to overcome my fears of my past? Would I even have an ounce of bravery or defiance to do such a thing?

Growling with about as much courage as I could muster, I struggled to bare my fangs at the Shepherd. "At least I'm _attempting_ to defy you, you bastard," I snarled.

Jerome mocked an evil laugh. "Go ahead and attempt," he proceeded to taunt me. "You'll fall at my paws sooner or later. After all, you were always a weakling puppy, before your pathetic pack's death and even after."

Once more, I felt my heart drop to my stomach, burning with a fire of guilt and failure. If I was a weakling puppy back then, how would I been able to find out who I would become now?

But . . . I couldn't give in. I had to keep on fighting as long as I could. Laughing, I feigned mocked Jerome. "At least I actually have a family," I spat at him, "unlike you. You might have a pack, but they're all mindless soldiers that obey your commands like fucking slaves. And that's all your pack is, a bunch of fools!"

Jerome's eyes widened in shock at the tone in my voice. Finally, a smile appeared on his lips, soon turning into a mock-sadistic grin. "You might have grown bigger," he said, "but you're so weak-willed it's laughable. You think you can just go through one little trial of strength and come out like a warrior in the first go? I'm a wolf, a master of both life and death. How can you – a mere mutt – even compare with my status?"

Once more doubt settled into my heart, almost causing me to tuck my tail in between my legs. Scimitar was a wolf, having resonating such a power but also evil. I, on the other hand, was only a mere dog, just barely getting the ropes of having to prove my strength.

But, if he was a wolf, then he was still a living being. He was still able to be killed. If I wasn't immortal, then neither was such a bustard as he.

"You think you're so big and powerful that you consider yourself immortal?" I mocked Jerome. "You're nothing more than a pathetic wuss. Killing others that are weaker than you? You're just a dumb ass dog that hasn't learned a new trick other than doing what you've always done throughout your life!"

Once more, Jerome's eyes widened in shock as he struggled to come up with a come-back. However, he could only gape in utter surprise as he couldn't finds the countering words to say. Instead, he smiled with pride and congratulated me. "Well done, Tamashi," he said, nuzzling my chest with his long muzzle.

"Thank you, Jerome," I responded, gently licking his forehead. As soon as he lifted his head away, I asked him, "So what trial are you going to put me through now?"

"You're going to learn your ability in speed," Jerome said to me. "Do you know why wolves and certain dogs are so fast?" When I shook my head, he responded, "It's because –whenever a dog runs – our legs are flailing wildly. Our stride – compared to a wolf's – is clumsy and unbalanced."

"But," he said, standing up so that his entire left side was facing me, "watch as I run." I watched on as there was a blur and Jerome was suddenly standing on the other side of the forest. "As soon as you take your first leap and place your paws onto the ground, you'll have to push as hard as your back paws can muster, and that will allow for more speed into your stride."

I nodded, but still had a crippling doubt that lingered in my mind. Still, I knew I couldn't pout or moan with frustration. Jerome was only trying to teach me how to be stronger. It wasn't fair in the least that I had such a harsh tone to my voice.

Shaking my head, I readied myself, standing right where Jerome had been. Inhaling deeply, I breathed out with a sigh and leaped forward with my legs, planting all four of my paws onto the ground. Jerome's words were still fresh in my mind: _"As soon as you take your first leap and place your paws onto the ground, you'll have to push as hard as your back paws can muster, and that will allow for more speed into your stride."_ Doing as he instructed, I first placed my front paws onto the ground and kicked off with my hind legs, not getting as far as I wanted, barely three feet ahead.

"Shit," I muttered, glaring down at the forest floor beneath me.

"You're not going to get your stride that you want in the blink of an eye, Tamashi," Jerome told me calmly. "It takes days and days of dedicated training."

"Alright," I nodded, understanding Jerome's words. "What else is there?"

"We've already covered the basics of your jumping, mental and emotional strength, and your speed," Jerome remembered. "We just need to start you off on your fang and claw power, as well as your agility."

"Okay," I agreed, knowing what Jerome was asking of me. In order for me to reach my highest point, I would have to start off with the basics – possibly biting on tiny objects such as sticks and leaves.

"Just as I had been trained as an assassin," Jerome told me, "so have a couple of Doberman Pinscher brothers named Thunder and Lector. But they've been training much longer than I had, so much that their canines have been almost steel coated. They were able to tear into a dog's skin with ease, as if they were a leaf cutting through air."

"What happened to the assassins?" I asked, curiously.

"After Weed and Kyoushiro had defeated them, Weed had managed to slam a branch into one of the Doberman's fangs," Jerome told me. "They ran off and were never heard of again after that. I assume that they were killed by Hougen for incompetence."

"Hougen had killed his own subordinates?" I questioned with a heated glare and a baring of all four of my fangs. "What was his damned goal?"

"A lust for power," Jerome responded. "All he wanted to do was rule all of Japan. And he didn't care who stood in his way."

 _He's much different than Scimitar_ , I thought to myself, shuddering at the thought of the demonic wolf. _At least Hougen had a reason for doing what he had done. Scimitar, on the other paw, did what he had done out of sheer joy for the thought of others suffering._

Deciding not to dwell on the thought, I faced Jerome and asked him, "So, how were you trained in your facility? Maybe, since I'm a larger dog, you can aid me in teaching me your assassin abilities."

"Not unless you learn a few more of your basic abilities," Jerome replied. "You still need to be taught in your ways of fang and claw power and your agility. You're three years old, still very young for an Akita, whose average lifespan reaches ten years. You need to be taught on your basics before you start to improve on one specific technique."

"I see," I said with a nod of my black brindle head. "I guess I'll have to continue on with the basics. What's next?"

"Your evasiveness, your agility," Jerome said. "Just learning to hit your opponent isn't enough. You'd have to have the reaction timing in order to dodge a lethal blow, no matter what it is."

"Alright," I agreed, facing the one-eared Shepherd with determination. Then, unexpectedly, he came at me with a mouthful of fangs. He came at me so fast that he was a blur and I didn't have the time to dodge his attack. Pain erupted in my chest and I felt the air being knocked out of me, as well as my back being pinned to the ground.

"You'll have to be faster, Tamashi," Jerome instructed me, immediately stepping off of me. "That's the thing about normal inexperienced dogs such as yourself. You stand there with a gaping expression as if nothing's going to hit you, only for your opponent to prove you wrong as soon as he or she does strike you."

"You don't _always_ have to dodge an attack," Jerome taught me. "You can even charge at your opponent and attack them like that. Come at me, Tamashi. Make a lunge for me." Without hesitating, I leaped for the Shepherd's eyes, only for something to slam heavily down onto my head. I managed to make a low grumble as soon as my head was forced deep into the ground – dirt blinding my sight, scratching up my face, and filling my mouth brown soil.

Even with my head inside the dirt, I could hear Jerome chuckling. "Do you see how I was able to lure you into attacking me? Don't believe in anything. Don't believe that your enemy will pay fair with you."

Letting out a roar of fury, I yanked my head out of the ground and shook my head away from any loose dirt, spitting out some of the brown earth that still lingered in my mouth. "Shit," I muttered, lowering my head and baring my fangs at the Shepherd. "You want to see 'believing in anything'?"

"Enlighten me," Jerome smirked.

With a growl of fury, I made another leap for Jerome's eyes and allowed him to charge at me. However, before he could react, I swung around and kicked my hind paws at the Shepherd, knocking him away. As soon as he was momentarily shocked, I headbutted him, causing him to become dazed and watched as he shook his head in bewilderment. Finally seeing an opportunity, I grabbed Jerome's throat in my jaws and threw him into a tree.

Jerome stood to his paws and, still partially dazed, struggled to smile in pride towards me. "Well done, Tamashi," he congratulated me. "Although your feinted attack was unfair and dirty, you managed to make an attack and strike at your opponent."

"Now, just as before, you must learn how to dodge an attack," Jerome instructed me. "Your reflexes, agility, and reaction timing will prove you to be a very difficult opponent to face. Even if your enemy would to bare his fangs and attack, you will be able to evade his attacks with ease."

As soon as Jerome had said that, and made a lunge for me, I easily dodged the leap and grabbed the Shepherd by the back of the neck and – while I was running – slammed his head into the bark of a tree. Jerome hissed in pain as soon as I dropped him, but soon recovered and shook his head away from the stinging sensation. "That's another lesson you'll need to learn, Tamashi," he said to me. "Pain is only your enemy. If you let it _take over_ your body, you won't be able to fight back. If you summon up all your willpower to _ignore_ it, you'll be able to withstand any and all wounds, no matter how severe."

Once more I stared at Jerome with awe. Here was a dog who had been through so much pain – physical, emotional, and mental – that he had learned to endure it. Here was a dog who had learned so much as an assassin that his skills were like that of a Ninja-Dog. Here was a dog with so much wisdom that he could have been a great Leader. _Jerome was such a badass_!

"I understand, Jerome," I breathed, bowing my head. Lifting it up, I asked him eagerly, "What else do I need to learn? All I need now are the fangs and claws, right?"

"Yes," Jerome answered. "But, in order to do such training, you'll have to learn how to practice on motionless objects, such as branches and boulders. We'll start off your basic biting skills on branches and, with every fifteen minutes that pass, you'll have to sharpen all four of your canine fangs on boulders."

"But," I said, "won't my fangs break if I bite into the boulder?"

"You're not biting the boulder, Tamashi," Jerome explained. "You're just gently sharpening your fangs against the sturdy material. That, in return, will make your fangs grow sharper and stronger."

"I see," I smiled, scanning the area for any large boulders that happened to stick out of the ground. Glee settled in my eyes as soon as I spotted one and ran up to it, opening my mouth as wide as I could. However, instead of biting deep into the hard rock, I gently and ever-so-slowly scraped the tip of my fangs on the iron-firm surface of the boulder.

"If you continue to do this every fifteen minutes you take a break from training with your fangs," Jerome went on, "your fangs are bound to grow, not only stronger but sharper as well. The Doberman assassins that trained with a new boss had strong and sharp fangs, also they were very skilled and deadly in battle."

"Thank you, Jerome," I said with a nod of my head.

"The same with your claws," Jerome added. "Your fangs will not be enough in a fight – no – a battle to the death. If you increase the sharpness in your claws as well as your fangs, you are bound to have such an advantage over your opponent."

"Thank you, Jerome," I repeated with a smile.

"You're going to train hour by hour without any pausing or ceasing your training unless I give the 'OK' to do so," Jerome said in a calm tone. "You're still a young dog, so you'll need to train as quick as possible."

"Alright," I said with a nod of my head.

Starting right that minute, I trained hard and long, not resting for even a second. If I wanted to destroy Scimitar, I would have to increase my skills to the max. Hour by hour, my basic training had increased to the bare minimum, though I struggled my best to improve them to the max.

A full week had passed since my basic skill training. Figuring that my training was enough, I walked up to Jerome that evening. "Jerome?" I asked the one-eared Shepherd slowly. "Do you think you can teach me some of the attacks that you dogs use?"

"Of course, Tamashi," Jerome answered with a nod of his head.

 ** _Aww shit. I'm sorry if the basic skill training didn't go far in depth like it had with my previous attempt in this story, but I felt that if it went on a bit longer than it had, then I wouldn't have been able to fit the chapter into the story insert._**


	25. Chapter 25

"First off," Jerome told me, "you're going to be taught in how to use the basic attacks."

"'Basic attacks'?" I echoed, tilting my head to the left in confusion.

"Aside from biting, clawing, throwing, and tackling your enemy," Jerome said, "there are basic attacks that you can use to render your enemy wounded. These are the Spin Attack and Neck the Rolling."

"So," I guessed, "I'm assuming that in order to do these attacks you'll have to bite the neck of your enemy?"

"Of course," Jerome nodded, "though since these are the basics, you'll have an easier time with these techniques. Now, the Spin Attack is a pretty basic move. All you have to do is bite the throat of your enemy and spin around while gripping their throat in your teeth."

"Can you show me how?" I asked, wanting to learn more.

With that, Jerome focused his sight on a tree branch, leaping up and biting down on the very end of it. I watched as he straightened his body and, while biting into the end of the branch, spun around, while still gripping onto the branch. Slowly, I watched as little shavings came off the branch, Jerome finally yanking his head to the right and ripping the tip of the branch right off. Skillfully, he landed on his paws and spat out the tip of the branch.

"That was the Spin Attack," Jerome said. "Now, you try it." Nodding, I scanned the trees for any dull ends of any branches, finally spotting one. Using what I had learned from my earlier training, I backed away a few feet and – inhaling deeply – lunged forward, pushing all the strength in my hind legs upwards. The bound in my legs sprung me up into the air as far as the tree before me, allowing me to snap all four of my canine fangs around the dull end of the branch.

"Very good, Tamashi," Jerome calmly praised me. "Now, try and use all of your upper and lower body strength to straighten yourself."

Doing as Jerome had said, I tried as hard as I could to lift up my lower body, but the muscles in my legs weren't strong enough and my lower body ended up hanging loosely.

"This is probably your first time doing this attack," Jerome reminded me. "All you have to do is practice, okay?" He paused. "If it helps you learn faster, I'll show you once more. But from there on, you'll have to learn how to do such a technique yourself."

Sighing with frustration, I saw Jerome focus his sight on the branch he'd bitten into earlier. I watched carefully as he bounded forward, planted all four paws onto the ground, and sprung upwards. I observed as he clamped his fangs around the very end of the branch, lift his entire body in the direction he was biting into the branch, and – while still gripping into the branch with all four of his main fangs – spun around in a very quick motion. Focusing my eyes on Jerome's fangs gripping the branch, I finally witnessed the very part where Jerome's fangs were biting were actually screwing into the bark of the branch and slowly scraping it off.

Jerome, as if he had shown me enough, finally release the branch and landed skillfully onto his paws. "Do you think you can do such a thing?" he asked.

I could sense that he wasn't looking for an apprehensive answer and actually wanted me to say that I was ready. Besides, after I had finally saw how to complete the Spin Attack in a live demonstration, I figured I had more than enough energy – more than enough _inspiration_ – to attempt it once more.

Glancing back up at the branch, I exhaled slowly, backed away a few feet, and – with a furious yell – rushed towards the targeted branch. In three short bounds, I finally pushed off with my hind legs and propelled myself towards the very tip of the branch, easily snatching it in all four of my canines. Remembering what Jerome had instructed me on, I lifted my lower body and straightened it out like the branch I was biting into. _Here goes nothing,_ I whispered mentally in my thoughts, twisting my entire body around.

At first, all I could focus on how firmly I was biting into the branch. Then, it occurred to me that I was actually spinning around like a whirlwind, while still gripping the branch in all four of my canines. The fulfilment that I was achieving my goal – that I was doing the technique that Jerome had assigned me. The realization that I had finally accomplished the first basic attack, _The Spin Attack_!

"Well done, Tamashi," Jerome congratulated me, causing me to smile and allow me to finally release my fangs on the branch. "You've completed one out of the three basic attacks. All you need now are two more to go."

"OH FUCK YEAH!" I hollered with joy. If I kept up the way I was actually observing my teacher mentoring me in the ways of the basic techniques, I would be sure to kick some real bastard asshole!

"Now," Jerome tutored, "the Neck the Rolling is going to slightly easier. Neck the Rolling happens when you bite the neck or throat of your enemy and actually roll your entire body side-over while still gripping the neck of your opponent."

"Can you show me a demonstration?" I asked, wanting to know exactly how to do such a technique.

Jerome looked over his shoulder and saw that Retsuga, Hyouma, Mugen, and Joe were watching. "Hyouma," he said to the wolf with the Mohawk, "why don't we give Tamashi a demonstration?"

Hyouma's lips gave off a challenging smirk as he accepted Jerome's offer with bared fangs. He recklessly made a lunge for Jerome's throat, only for Jerome to whirl around and kick at the wolf's chin, knocking Hyouma's head backwards. With the wolf momentarily dazed, Jerome took no hesitation and bit into Hyouma's throat, rolling around while still gripping into the wolf's jugular. Then, having seen the dazed look in the wolf's eyes and after the final roll, Jerome tossed Hyouma into the trees, lifting himself to his paws and smiling at me.

"That," Jerome told me, "was the Neck the Rolling. Now, why don't we see how you do such a thing?" He looked over his shoulder and motioned for Mugen to come over. "Mugen? You'll have to allow Tamashi to use the technique on you, alright?"

Mugen nodded slowly and faced me with an expression of apprehension. "Please go easy on me, alright Tamashi?"

I smirked deviously. "Like hell," I responded, instantly leaping forward and biting Mugen on the throat and laying myself onto the ground. My weight had pulled the wolf down onto the ground with me and, without a second's hesitation, I did as Jerome taught me and rolled around five times while still gripping Mugen's neck in my teeth. After the fifth roll, I tossed my head to the right and threw Mugen into a tree, instantly hearing praises and shouts of congratulations from Jerome, Retsuga, Joe, and Hyouma.

"That was pretty impressive, Tamashi," Retsuga observed calmly.

"That was just one of the basics," I reminded him glumly. "I wouldn't get as far as so much as _scratching_ a wolf with these simple techniques."

"So much as scratching a wolf?" Mugen cried out. " _You fucking threw me into a tree_! I'd say you have more than enough skill to polish up your own attacks."

"If you want," Joe offered, "I can show you one of the attacks I've learned myself."

"What attack is that?" I asked curiously.

"Neck the Killing," Joe answered, "performed by me and my now-deceased brother Yukimura. It's here you have to bite around the neck of the bear, wolf, or dog and spin around while still tearing into the neck of your enemy. It takes about eight or nine spins to make the enemy heavily wounded before they die of blood loss."

"Can you show me a demonstration?" I asked curiously, wanting to see the technique for myself.

Joe nodded in response and jumped into the air and bite into the base of the branch of which Jerome had bitten into. Not wanting to waste my time sitting around, I observed as Joe swung himself end-over while still gripping onto the branch. Much like Jerome's demonstration, I could see bits of bark being shaved off as Joe swung end-over while still biting into the branch. After the eighth spin, Joe finally released the branch and landed on his paws, watching as the entire branch came falling to the forest floor below it.

"Damn!" I breathed. "And you use _that_ attack to take down ** _bears_**?"

"Of course," Joe told me. "It's pretty basic for an Akita, so I have no doubt that you'll be able to use it. And since you're an Akita like me, you'll be able to succeed in fulfilling such a task." He gazed at me with concern. "If you're not willing to go through with this technique, we could always stop for the day."

"NO!" I roared, causing Joe to nearly leap back in shock. I lowered my voice, remembering who I was talking to. "No," I responded in a more calm tone. "If I just sit on my ass and not do a single damn thing while that bastard could be plotting all of our demise, then no one will be able to stop such a monster! I need to be strong as possible!"

"I see," Joe nodded his head in understanding. "Why don't you try it out?"

Sighing, I faced a branch that loomed above in one of trees. I needed a long and thick branch – one which the end was long enough for me to loop my body over, but thick enough for me to bite into without breaking in half the millisecond I bit into it. Scanning the tree up and down, I searched for that one branch – both long and thick enough – for me to try out my new technique on.

Finally, I found a branch. It looked to be roughly twenty-five inches in length and eight inches thick. I smiled and bounded towards the branch, pushing up with all the strength in my hind legs and spring into the air. This time, instead of biting at the very tip of the branch, I wrapped my fangs around the base of the branch itself.

"Alright." Even though I couldn't see him from where I was, I could hear Joe's smile in his voice alone. "Now, bring your entire body up and over."

Grunting, I struggled to lean my upper body upwards, trying to raise it a few inches above my current position. However, as soon as my neck even barely rose an inch above the branch, the lack of energy in my hind legs forced my lower body to hang loosely. I attempted another time, only to have the same result.

I growled, swinging back and forth as I was unable to do anything else. If I released the branch in my mouth now, then it would be much harder for me to get back up to my current position a second time. All I could do as swing back and forth, watching as the ground below me began to blur as I rocked back and forth, observing as my legs repeated the same motion. Back and forth, back and forth, back . . . and . . . forth . . .

My sky blue eyes widened in glee and realization as I now knew what to do!

I allowed my hind legs to swing back and forth, only with much greater force. With every powerful swing inwards, I swung outwards, causing my hind legs to nearly rise above my shoulders!

"Yes," I muttered to myself. "You can do it. You can do it, Tamashi. Just one more swing upwards!"

A jolt of energy suddenly pulsed through my body as I realized that I was talking to myself. Only this time, unlike many of the other times I had when I was faced with utter depression, the pep-talk to myself was more . . . _encouraging_. It was as bright as the sun above me and gave a sense of . . . _inner courage_ , the willpower I needed to push on with my goals. And right now, my goal was to complete this technique that Joe had assigned me.

With all of the strength in my hind legs, I swung in and out, back and forth, to and thro. Every kick in outwards only increased the height in which my legs pushed inwards, ever so slowly increasing my height as I attempted to curl my hind legs over my back. Finally, after one last push inwards, I _felt – felt – my hind legs lift up directly above my back and curl over my head, causing me to flip over while still gripping onto the branch_!

As much as I wanted to yell with joy, I had remembered how many times Joe had swung around the branch. Recalling his demonstration, I remembered him swinging around _eight_ times. He had told me specifically, _"It takes about eight or nine spins to make the enemy heavily wounded before they die of blood loss"_. All I had succeed was just one measly little swing, one little swing that wouldn't even _scratch_ a fully grown bear. I had to swing at least eight more times before I released my stick.

Once more, I swung my legs in and outwards, pushing my entire body up and over my head. This time, my swinging hind legs had given me a sudden burst of speed as – in a flash – I had swung myself end-over at least three times before my hind legs once more hung loosely below me.

"One more time, Tamashi," I muttered. "You can do it. You can _do it_! _You can do it_!"

Giving it one last shot, I swung my legs outwards and powerfully looped myself over the branch – not once, twice, or even three – _but a full eight times_! After the eighth loop, I gripped the branch in my teeth and tore it right off of the tree and landed like a Ninja-Dog on the forest floor.

For almost a full minute, I didn't understand what I had done until Joe congratulated from behind me. "Well done, Tamashi," he praised, causing me to turn around and gape at him happily.

"I did it," I muttered, feeling my tail wag with excitement. "I did it." I couldn't help but pant heavily and happily. "I did it!" Without knowing what I was doing, I tackled Joe to the ground and began to lick at his face with complete and utter joy. "THANK YOU, JOE-SAMA!"

"Joe-sama?" Joe asked, unable to stop a proud grin from spreading across his lips as I ceased my licking. "I'm glad to be of service to you, Tamashi. I hope you'll learn well in your future battles."

"I will, Joe-sama," I responded, putting all of my truth in those words.

"Tamashi?" a calm wise voice asked from before me. I lifted my head in pride, expecting to see Jerome. Disappointment and disgust filled my eyes as I soon saw that it was Retsuga who was talking to me. "Hyouma, Mugen, and I were wondering if you'd like to learn in the ways of the Battouga. Would you care to learn such techniques from a couple of wolves?"

I was literally about to yell out, "Fuck this shit" and storm off. However, to be able to learn the attack of a wolf was too much of a great offer and opportunity for me to turn away from.

Plus, it would give me an edge when fighting Scimitar. And with him thinking that I was nothing more than a measly dog would give me a very high advantage, as he didn't know that I had been training all throughout this entire week on actual fighting skills.

Despite my disapproval, I knew I didn't have much of an option to take, which only left me with one answer. "Yes."


	26. Chapter 26

"What sort of Battougas are there?" I questioned Retsuga curiously.

"Each wolf – or dog – was the master of a specific Battouga," Retsuga explained. "I as the Retsu warrior, having learned the _Retsu Genmu-Battouga_. The _Retsu Genmu-Battouga_ is pretty much like the _Zetsu Tenrou Battouga_ , but in an almost reverse motion." When I blinked my eyes in confusion, the one-eyed wolf informed me some more on the _Battougas_.

"The _Zetsu Tenrou Battouga_ was one of the most powerful of all the Battougas," he proceeded to inform me. "In order for you achieve such an attack, it takes days of harsh and dedicated training to even barely succeed it. The user – wolf or dog – has to run at max speed, leap into the air, and bite while spinning around in a disc like formation. This attack has the ability to create heavy damage, such as decapitating a bear's head off or even gouging out an eye of a wolf. This attack must be delivered fast, or else – with the right evasiveness – the opponent will be able to dodge it."

"That's pretty cool," I muttered, licking my lips with excitement. "So, am I going to learn that technique first?"

"Since that is one of the basic _Battougas_ ," Retsuga said, "I'm going to mentor you in learning the _Zetsu Tenrou Battouga_ first. Hyouma has also been gifted with another one of the _Battougas_ – the _Metsu Hen'i Battouga_. However, I'm going to teach you how to use the _Zetsu Tenrou Battouga_ first, just so you have an idea of how powerful and dangerous these attacks really are."

"Alright," I nodded with agreement. "Can you give me a demonstration on how to use the _Zetsu Tenrou Battouga_ first?"

"Of course," Retsuga replied with a respectful nod. He focused his attention on a long, but thick branch. I watched intently as he raced towards the branch with full speed, leaped into the air, and spun end over. From there, he was spinning as fast as the wind going a hundred-and-forty miles in a hurricane, finally lifting himself into the air and biting deep into the branch.

 _Shit,_ I thought with amazement. _What a wonderful technique!_

CRACK! The branch that Retsuga had bitten into had split in two, making him dive downwards, land on all four of his paws and spit out the branch. "That," Retsuga explained, "was the _Zetsu Tenrou Battouga_. Your first attempt won't be perfect, since you're not a wolf. But with the right amount of training, you'll be able to succeed such an attack."

"Right," I cried out with joy. "So, where exactly do I start?"

"You'll do the steps one by one," the one-eyed wolf replied. "First, you'll start off by running at max speed." He paused for a second, considering his options. "Why don't we do one together?"

"'Do one together'?" I asked. "I thought you'd had to instruct me on the ability – verbally – and then show me a physical demonstration. I'd like to do it step by step."

"Alright then," the one-eyed wolf said, standing right beside me. "We'll do it in whatever way makes you more comfortable. Now," he said, tilting his head to the branch he'd targeted for the both of us, "why don't we start off at a simple bolt? Just running as fast as you can?"

"Okay," I agreed, while doing as he said and racing off at my normal speed. Then, it only took a second for me to follow Jerome's teachings and kick off with my hind legs, sprinting me forwards at a very high bolt. One second I was standing by Retsuga and the entrance to the row of the trees. The other second I was positioned at Jerome's side.

"Impressive, Tamashi," the pale blue wolf said with pride. "Step two: You'll have to run, but this time, jump into the air, curl your upper body over your lower half and spin as fast as you can while biting. This step might be a bit difficult."

Nodding, I did as Retsuga told me and followed through my steps. I took off at a full sprint, empowering my speed as I pushed off with my hind legs. After three more bounds, I finally leaped into the air and went to curl my upper body over my lower half, only to immediately (and unintentionally) dive headfirst straight down into the ground.

"Shit," I muttered, spitting out the dirt that had gathered in my mouth. "That I didn't mean to do!"

"Let's try it once again, shall we?" the pale blue wolf asked calmly. "Start off with your speed first."

Following Retsuga's instructions, I bounded forward and kicked off with my back legs, springing into the air. "NOW!" the wolf shouted, allowing me to curl up into a ball.

Unfortunately, it was never that easy and I ended up falling and rolling onto the dirt.

"One more chance, Tamashi," Retsuga urged me. "Let me give you a hint: When you curl up into a ball, do not stop _ascending_ into the air. Allow each and every curl you make of your body to push you upwards. Every curl you make will make you even push you faster. Do you understand?"

"Yes," I answered, fully and completely understanding. Focusing on one of the high branches once more, I followed my steps. Step one: I bolted forward with my speed, finally planting all four of my paws onto the ground and springing off. Step two: I curled my body up and over until I formed a disc. Step three: I spun around, each spin I activated only pushed my forwards. Step four: I began to bite wildly while I was spinning. Step five: I only pushed myself forwards with every spin.

Even with every spin I made, I could only see myself nearing the branch. With every second that passed, I could feel myself spinning faster and faster.

Finally, it only took a few more spins until I finally saw the branch right in front of me. I spun one last time and – having bitten while spinning (as Retsuga instructed) – bit into the thick and long branch.

"Excellent, Tamashi!" I heard Retsuga's voice boom with pride. "Your training has paid off."

"But," I stammered, "how was I able to do it so easily? I thought I had to go through days of dedicated training."

"You were being taught by someone who knew the _Battouga_ well," the pale blue wolf said calmly. "When it's being taught by someone who has barely any knowledge on the _Battouga_ itself, it's not as effective and the user of said _Battouga_ tires out rather quickly. When it's being taught by a wolf, more specifically by the original _wolf_ user of that specific _Battouga_ , the user is no longer able to feel such heavy fatigue, now that the student of said wolf user has more experience in controlling said _Battouga_."

"Wow," I muttered, wagging my tail with excitement. "So, I'll be able to use the _Battouga_ numerous times?"

"It's not as easy as that," Retsuga told me. "If you continue to use the _Battouga_ – no matter which one it is – repeatedly, your enemy will be able to figure out your plan and strike when you're not expecting it. You must only use the _Battouga_ as a last resort."

"I understand," I responded with a dip of my head. "So, the _Retsu-Genmu Battouga_? Youi said that it was mastered by you? And that it had the same movement as the _Zetsu Tenrou Battouga_ but backwards?"

"Yes," Retsuga told me, "which is why I had decided for you to practice the _Zetsu Tenrou Battouga_ first. The _Retsu Genmu Battouga_ might be a bit harder for you, since the effort you put into the first _Battouga_ was minimal because you're a middle aged dog. Still, I have no doubt that you'll be able to achieve the _Retsu Genmu Battouga_."

"So," the one-eyed wolf instructed, "do the same steps as before but, when you spin around, try to make a backwards rotation. Do your best."

"Alright," I muttered, repeating my first two steps from learning the _Zetsu Tenrou Battouga_. With a growl, I hurled myself forward and bounded, finally planting all four of my paws onto the ground and kicking off with my hind paws. I launched myself into the air above me, but as soon as my paws left the earth, I began to hesitate. The hesitation caused me to freeze in midair and plummet to the ground on my left flank.

"You shouldn't have hesitated, Tamashi," Retsuga told me calmly. "As soon as you're in the air, the millisecond you're high in the sky, you must spin around in that millisecond. Otherwise, as you've found out now, you'll fall to your failure."

"Can you show me a demonstration?" I asked. "Maybe if I had visual example, than I can figure out how to do it."

"Of course," Retsuga answered, preparing himself as he focused on another branch. Just as I had, he lunged forward with a burst of lightning fast speed. Then, placing all four of his paws onto the ground, kicking off with his hind legs and propelling himself into the air. The millisecond he gained height, he began to spin around in a backwards rotation, surprisingly reaching his target. Then, I watched as his fangs clamped around the targeted branch, snapping it in half. He aimed himself down at the ground and landed perfectly on all four of his paws.

"There," the one-eyed wolf said. "Now, this has to be your last chance. You've already fulfilled the _Zetsu Tenrou Battouga_. Much like the _Zetsu Tenrou_ , if you don't use this _Battouga_ as a last resort, you will fall to your opponent. You have to be fast in your activation of any _Battouga_ you use."

"Alright," I answered, preparing myself as I spotted a 30-inch-long and 10-inch-thick branch. Learning what I had been taught, I raced towards the branch, leaping off of my hind legs and leaped high into the air, instantly spinning around without a second's hesitation. However, unlike my teachings from the _Zetsu Tenrou Battouga_ , I began to spin backwards in a very fast motion, easily aiming for the branch with my fangs as I snapped my jaws wildly. With every spin, I began to near the branch as it came closer . . . and closer . . . and closer.

CRACK! The sound of the branch being snapped between my jaws was such a wonderful sound. The texture of the bark against my lips was a beautiful feeling. Finally, the taste of the bitter wood on my tongue was exciting as I had realized that I _had succeeded in making the Retsu-Genmu Battouga!_

"Well done, Tamashi," Retsuga congratulated with a gleeful grin and a happy pant of his tongue. "You had done very well. You may let go now."

Realizing that I was still hovering in the air by the branch in my jaws, I jerked my head to the right and spat out the branch before landing on my paws. "I did it," I muttered, not believing what I had just done. "I had succeeded in making the _Retsu-Genmu Battouga_!"

"I would like you to ask if you wanted to train with your newly found abilities to master **your own** _Battouga_ , if you'd like," the pale blue wolf offered, causing my heart to skip a beat.

"Oh hell yes!" I shrieked as I began to wag my tail with excitement. While a large part of me was denying the thought of being taught anymore by these damned wolves, another hidden light side was poking at my heart, telling me that I should just agree with the wolf's words.

"Alright," Retsuga replied. "If you're going to learn how to create your own Battouga, you'll need to learn these five things. Number one: Are your main weapons your claws or your fangs? Most dogs – or wolves – use their fangs because they feel as if their bite force matters more than claw-usage. However, this is far from true. Your claws can just be as equally sharp and deadly as your fangs."

I had to hesitate when he asked that. I had just assumed that I was going to learn my own Battouga without knowing the "steps" that came with it.

Still, I knew what I wanted. I wanted a Battouga that would be deadly and effective to all enemies. I wanted to rely on brutality, how heavy I could damage my enemy physically, how well I could make him bleed out. If that was the case, why shouldn't I use both – my claws and fangs – as equals?

"Would you mind if I said both my claws and fangs?" I asked hesitantly. "If they really are as razor-sharp and deadly together as you said, why should I not use them?"

"Very well," the one-eyed wolf said. "Number two: Where on your enemy are you going to hit them to inflict critical damage? Just biting them on the ear or the nose isn't nearly going to do as much damage as your preferred spot. Usually, the Battougas are aimed for the skull or the spine, rendering your enemy unable to move. You'd have to hit somewhere where it can cause great damage."

I had to think about a preferred place to disable to my enemy.

The eyes were tiny enough for me to make a lethal lunge, but with the right agility the opponent – whether it'd be a wolf, dog, or bear – would be able to either block my lunge with a claw or easily swerve out of the way. So getting my enemy in the eye was out of the question.

I could go for the heart, the life-bringing organ. As long as the heart was beating, then your enemy still lived. Unfortunately, that would mean that as soon as I aimed my jaws for it, then – with the right claw or jaw power – my enemy could pull or yank me off. Still, even if they did succeed in pulling me off, they would only be seriously wounded.

The throat was too easy of a target. It was so easy to leap for, only for your opponent to evade such an attack unless if they were standing as still as a tree in winter. Plus, the jugular vein was such a large vein that pulsed with blood, giving life force back to the head. It would be so basic, but all too predictable as well.

Then, it all came to me. The perfect _Battouga_ , the most effective and original out of all of them.

"I'll aim . . . for the throat," I told the one-eyed wolf, "but as soon as I bite, I'll pull down my fangs and body, slowly splitting my enemy's belly open and leave the organs to flow out."

Retsuga blinked his one eye in surprise. "I've never heard of anything like that before," he muttered, soon smiling afterwards. "Do what you will. Number three: Your _Battouga_ has to be fast, otherwise your enemy will be able to dodge it with ease. Your _Battouga_ cannot stop cease its speed when you've hit your enemy in its preferred place. You'll have to ensure death or major wounds even after you've activated your _Battouga_ , otherwise it'll have been for nothing."

"I understand," I answered with a bow of my head. "What's number three?"

"How much energy are you focusing into your _Battouga_?" Retsuga asked curiously. "The _Zetsu Tenrou Battouga_ requires an extreme amount of focus into activating your technique even after you've struck with your enemy."

I pondered that thought for a second, only to respond with, "I'll probably use up all my energy into my _Battouga_. I mean, if I'm going for a critical hit, it's probably going to take a lot out of me, possibly render **_me_** unconscious."

"I see," the pale blue wolf observed. "Number four: If you don't use up all of your energy in your Battouga, how are you going to gather your composure in order to strike your enemy down if needed?"

"I'll–" I ceased my talking, only to consider that possible outcome. "There would have to be a river or a rock I can smash or land into in order to wake myself up, in order or me to recover just in time."

"Interesting," Retsuga answered, nodding his head. "Final number five: What are you going to name your Battouga?"

That wasn't hard for me in the least. " _Kuro Tora-Ge Battouga_ ," I answered, translating it for him. " _Black Tiger-Stripe sword draw_." Realization burned into my sky blue eyes as I realized how do achieve my own Battouga. "And I'll give you a wonderful and visual example."

Spotting the flat bark of a tree before me, I repeated my same form of the Zetsu Tenrou Battouga. However, instead of aiming for a branch, I targeted the gritty side of the flat of three, instantly biting and digging my claws into the flat bark and yanking myself downwards, easily pulling down on the tree and watching as deep gashes slowly appeared into the tree. Tearing my fangs and claws away from the scarred tree, I leaped off of the thick oak and spun around, watching as thick strips of bark came off and smiling with extreme pride.

"That was impressive, Tamashi," Retsuga told me with calm joy. "I've never seen such an attack as that one. That is sure to render your enemy powerless and deeply injured."

"Well done, Tamashi!" Joe yelled with ecstasy.

"I must say that I'm quite stunned as well as Joe, Hyouma, and Mugen are as well," Jerome breathed, looking behind him to see the expressions of the wolves and Weed's brother. All three of them were gaping in surprise at the sight of the aftermath of my Battouga.

"You actually did that?" Joe asked, shaking with disbelief. "That had to take some skill and strength, as you've proven that with your hard and long training."

"What is your Battouga called?" Hyouma asked with curiosity.

" _Kuro Tora-Ge Battouga_ ," I repeated to my onlookers. "Instead of aiming for the skull or spine of my enemy, I plan on – as you've seen – aiming for the throat and belly of my enemies, ensuring death as I've brutally torn out their organs."

"Impressive," Hyouma muttered, "for a dog."

"A dog who you know is going to kick your ass if you keep up that racist attitude," I grinned maliciously at the greyish wolf with the Mowhawk.

One by one, wolves and dogs laughed in amusement.


	27. Chapter 27

Night came quickly that day. The crescent moon was bright and giving light to everything beneath it. Crickets were chirping their melodious songs. Owls were hooting with a slightly eerie tone, breaking through the silence of the night.

However, unlike my new friends, I was awake fully and completely, scowling at the entrance to the cave. My mind was racking around the thought of leaving these fools. Jerome was a fool for allowing Weed to banish him from the pack. Joe might have been Weed's brother, but how could I be sure that he was nowhere near as naïve as his damned bother? Koyuki was too innocent and possibly blind as to the evils of the harsh reality. As for the three wolves, they were nothing more than damned wolves that should be killed without hesitation. It was time that I left these idiots.

"Tamashi?" a soft meek voice asked, causing me to turn my head around and face Mugen. "Where are you going?"

Snorting with disgust, I yanked my head away from him, growling, "I came here for all that I needed, which was to become stronger. It turns out that you and the rest of these idiots are nothing. I never needed a strong pack that was consorting with wolves."

"Why?" Mugen asked curiously.

"Wolves are nothing but evil monsters," I hissed, baring all of my four fangs and snarling. "I don't believe this 'wise' personality that Retsuga keeps on emanating. Hyouma's nothing more than a racist bastard. And you?" I smirked sadistically. "You're nothing more than a coward."

I watched as Mugen's ears were pinned back in shame and his tail curled beneath his legs. Scoffing, I once more turned my head away from him and began to wander off, away from the safety of Jerome's hidden hiding place.

I was fifteen miles away from the hidden hideout when I realized that Mugen was still following me. "What in the fucking hell do you want, you coward?" I hollered with rage, watching as Mugen's left ear twitched.

"You have to run," he said, quickly looking around him. "There's danger here."

"Please," I growled. "All you're trying to do is–"

I was cut off when I heard a loud gritty roar boom from behind me. Whirling around, I came face-to-face with a 20-foot-tall (on hind legs) large monster. Though my memories weren't sure what to make of the creature, my instincts were screaming, "BEAR!" And although every part of me was shivering out of horror, my Bear-Hound mind was growling with the same word over and over again: "Fight, fight, fight!"

"Tamashi, run!" Mugen called out to me, unable to snap me out of my confused stance. "What do you think you're doing? Run!"

Before I could respond verbally, I saw the monstrous bear raise its large paw and slam it straight towards me. Reacting on pure instinct, I leaped out of the way and bared my fangs in defiant bravery. As soon as the bear's paw landed onto the ground, I lunged forward and bit deep into the bear's arm with my newly sharp fangs, causing the bear to howl and raise its left paw.

"Tamashi, let go! You'll just be killed!" Mugen cried out desperately.

I only sank my fangs in deeper, wanting to break through the bone that connected to the paw itself. I wanted to render my enemy's useless!

Just as I was about to bite even deeper, I glanced upwards just in time to see the other paw aim for me. Without hesitating, I released the right paw, kicking myself off of the arm, and watched as the bear himself struck his own arm deep with his other set of claws. He howled in agony, but soon recovered and glared at my direction. The wounds inside his right paw were gravely severe, gore and blood showing through the fur.

I went to back myself up in order to finish this bastard off, only for something to wrap around my left hind leg and lift up into the air. "Shit! No!" I cried out, realizing I was caught in a snare. Realizing my position, the bear growled with triumph and went to strike at me with his one good paw.

"I WON'T LET YOU!" a rage-filled voice howled. It was then that a figure leaped for the eyes of the bear, succeeding in biting the tiny yellow orbs. I recognized the scent of a wolf, but assumed it was Retsuga coming to my rescue. After pausing myself, I realized in a moment that my savior . . . _was Mugen_!

Having momentarily blinded the bear, Mugen instantly ran towards my side and leaped upon the tree from where I was hanging. His strong and sharp fangs easily sliced through the rope as if it was a leaf, allowing both of us to fall to our paws. "Are you alright?" Mugen asked, sounding genuinely concerned.

I didn't know what to say. I was just about to be killed, having unwittingly gotten myself into a seriously bad predicament. And this wolf . . . this brave wolf . . . had the courage to stop the bear's attack, blind the huge monster, and free me before any harm could come to me. Mugen . . . a wolf – a fucking wolf! – had saved me from certain death!

Smiling, I went to say, "thank you", only for a loud roar to cause the earth to shake. The bear, although blind, had been able to find us with his amazing nose. Realizing what had to be done, I told Mugen, "Go! You'll be able to distract it when I can deliver the final blow!"

Nodding, Mugen raced in front of the bear, snarling with all four of his bared fangs. The bear narrowed his head down at the wolf, only for me to lunge forward and bite deep around the bear's neck.

"Time to die, you bastard," I growled, activating the Neck the Killing technique that Joe had taught me. With my fangs still clamped around the bear's neck, I swung my entire body around five times, finally leaping off of the bear after my fifth spin. I watched as the wound in the bear's neck had opened up and poured out a fountain of blood, causing the bear to fall onto his stomach . . . dead.

"That's what you get, mother fucker," I growled, spitting at the face of the dead bear. Lifting my head up, I raced over to Mugen, tackling him into the ground, and gently began to lick his chest. "You saved me, Mugen!" I shrieked with gratitude and joy.

"What does that mean?" Mugen asked confused.

Pulling my body away from him, I smiled at the wolf who had recovered from his tackle. "That means that . . . I'll accept you," I said, bowing my head in respect and extreme joy. "I'll accept you three wolves – you, Retsuga, and Hyouma."

"Well then," Retsuga's proud voice said from behind me, "I'll be happy to take you up on that request, that is if you're interested."

"Yeah," Hyouma agreed, clearly grinning. "Me too."

Turning my head around, I saw the other two wolves standing behind me and smiling with agreement. It was my turn to smile this time. "Thank you, Retsuga. Hyouma. Mugen."

 ** _HELL YES! Tamashi just accepted a wolf – 3 wolves – as her friends! Please review because I know you guys have a LOT to say._**


	28. Chapter 28

As soon as I walked back into the entrance to the cave, I had to consider the possible ways of telling my newfound pack that I was leaving. It wasn't right for me to leave my new friends (Retsuga, Hyouma, and Mugen included) that I was leaving them forever. But, I had felt that – with all that I had learned from them – I was able to live on my own.

I had become much stronger (mentally and physically) than I ever had been when I was a mere frightened and mentally scarred for life puppy. It was because of these dogs – because of these _wolves_ – that I finally had found my courage and sense of justice and moral I had lost ever since my tragic beginning. It was Mugen who had revealed to me that not _every_ wolf out there was evil and sadistic. It was Retsuga who had taught me in the ways of the _Battouga_ , who had taught me in the steps of creating **_my own_** _Battouga_.

It wasn't right that I should just leave my newfound family in the dark when they were just barely starting to get to know me, especially with Retsuga and Mugen being the closest that I could trust. Maybe . . .

"I'VE GOT IT!" I hollered, calling out to my family from inside the cave. "Mugen! Retsuga! Hyouma! Jerome! Joe! Koyuki!"

One by one, they all exited the cave, their eyes glimmering with curiosity at my sudden shout of joy.

Lowering my voice, I asked them in a shy tone, "Do you guys . . . want to . . . go to Gajou? In Ohu? Where Weed and his pack are?"

Looking at their expressions of confusion, curiosity, and shame, I had a feeling I was going to get many responses. Luckily, all six of the canines nodded and answered with one simple word, "Yes."

 ** _I'm terribly sorry about this short chapter. :( Please forgive me._**


	29. Chapter 29

"Do you know the way back to Gajou?" Jerome asked curiously. "I'm just asking because if you've ran away from there in a rage-fit and didn't bother to look back in the direction where Gajou was then you might have some trouble getting back there."

"All I have to do is get onto his scent," I said to my friends, "and from there it's all easy. But, he's not here right now, so I guess I'll just have to–" My eyes then focused on Joe, who looked exactly like Weed except without the scars.

"Joe?" I asked him. "You're part of Weed's family. Do you know if I can catch onto his scent by sniffing you? If he _is_ related to you, then you must have the same scent as him, right?"

"Of course," Joe responded with a nod as he allowed me to sniff at him furiously.

Finally, catching onto Weed's scent, I turned my head away from joe and stuck my nose in the air, slowly sniffing the air. It then called to me – the scent of a silver Tora-Ge puppy . . . Weed!

"Jerome," I told him, "do you think you can climb onto the trees above us and guide us back to Ohu? You're an assassin, right?"

"I understand, Tamashi," Jerome replied as he did as he was told. He gazed off into the distance as he climbed onto a tall spot on the tree.

"Retsuga. Hyouma. Mugen," I told all three of the wolves. "I need you three to be my bodyguards in case if I get into any danger along the way, alright?"

"With my life," Retsuga said, standing behind me.

"I would do anything for you, Tamashi," Mugen said, flanking my right side.

"I'm not normally ready to take orders from a dog," Hyouma snarled under his breath, "but since you've made me a part of your . . . newly found family – as you've put it – then I'll take orders from you, just this once though."

"Koyuki," I offered, "I need you to be my voice of reason. My conscience, able to convince me of getting ahead of my impulsive nature."

"Okay," Koyuki said with a smile as she trailed from behind the three wolves.

With Jerome in the lead, Weed's scent in my nose, my bodyguards protecting me, and my conscience following behind them, all seven of us traveled our way towards Futago's Pass, eventually coming towards the large gorge that lead the way towards Gajou.

Jerome didn't hesitate and leaped over the ravine with ease. Joe followed in Jerome's pawprints as he too jumped over the gorge. Retsuga gently grabbed Koyuki in his jaws and gently tossed her over his back, finally succeeding in the long jump with Hyouma and Mugen close behind. After seeing that I didn't follow, Mugen called out to me, "What's wrong, Tamashi?"

I didn't respond. It wasn't because of my past that I had hesitated. I had finally proven myself to be a strong-willed, accepting (accepting in wolves and other dogs), and brave dog.

It was actually when Weed had crossed this very gorge, when he had told me that "if you jump this, then you're an Ohu soldier", that I had no longer had doubt. In fact, instead of doubt that clouded my mind, a new emotion flooded my head – confidence.

I no longer had any crippling doubt that haunted me from my past. My past was what made me so fearful, so vengeful, and so doubtful. But with the help of my newfound family (especially Mugen and Retsuga), I had felt a small fire burning from within me. That fire was confidence, the likes of which I had never felt in all my years.

Having enough of sitting back and watching as my family stood there with expectations, I howled to the sky and raced forward, bounding three times before planting all four of my paws down and pushing off as hard as I could with my hind legs. I was instantly lifted into the air and zoomed over the gorge with ease, my eyes focused on the other side of the cliff.

Normally, I would have looked down in fear, fear of falling to my death. But I had changed. I no longer felt such a fear and kept my eyes onto the other side of the cliff as it came closer and closer and closer.

SKUUUURRRRRRR!

I landed perfectly on my paws, but when jumping I had also unwittingly unleashed my speed and skid (painfully) to a stop.

"Awesome, Tamashi!" Mugen cried out, licking my face with joy. "You made it!"

"You're now considered an Ohu warrior." Jerome smiled at me.

"I knew I taught my student well," Retsuga said with calm satisfaction. "With all that I had taught you, I knew that – in some small way – you would prove to be a great warrior."

Hyouma scoffed, but still had the energy to smirk at me with an expression of astonishment.

Jerome, having gotten back to the matter at hand, gathered himself and looked back to where the forest is. "We're almost there," he said, mostly to himself than to all of those around him. "All we need to do is pass this forest."

Without another word, the seven of us strolled past the forest, quickly nearing Gajou. It was then that I saw that Weed was standing at the main entrance to Gajou itself. Even from where I was, I could see that his sky blue eyes were glimmering with curiosity and slight anger as he finally spotted me. "Tamashi, what are–"

I watched as his eyes shine with joy as he saw the black and cream one-eared Shepherd that leaped down from the tree. "Jerome?" he yelled with joy and shock. His eyes looked all around me, trying to see if there were any more faces that he could recognize.

His eyes first settled on the Akita that looked exactly like him, gaping in confusion. "Who are you and why do you look like me?"

"My name is Joe," the Weed-look-alike said to Weed, "and I'm your brother."

"Jerome?" an excited voice called out from Gajou as Weed's main group – consisting of GB, Sasuke, Mel, Hook, Ken, Kagetora, Reika, Rocket, Hiro, Kyoushiro, and Tesshin – exited the large rocky structure.

"Joe?" Gin's voice echoed with shock as he too stepped out from Gajou. "Is that you?"

"Yes, Father," Joe stated proudly. "It's me." He didn't have time to react when Gin gently tackled him to the ground and began licking him with great love.

"If only your mother as alive to see what–" Gin paused as he looked up from his second son, only to gape in shock when he saw Koyuki. "Sakura?" he muttered, shaking his head as if he were dreaming.

"My name is Koyuki," the white Kishu said with a kind smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Leader Gin."

"Koyuki," Gin breathed, about to ask some more questions but was cut off.

"Gin?" Akame, Kurotora, and Ben left the safety of Gajou only to come face to face with the wolves of the underworld. "Retsuga? Hyouma? Mugen?"

"It's us, my dear friends," Retsuga assured them with a polite nod of his head.

"I thought that the underworld would have fallen on you," Akame muttered, "as well as it had with every other wolf."

"Speaking of wolves," Kurotora snapped at Mugen, "why is that idiot coward here?"

"Mugen is not an idiot," I snarled, nearly lunging myself at the Kai-dog, "nor is he a coward. He actually proved his worth and saved me from a bear."

"And what the hell are you doing here?" Kurotora growled at me with rage. "You think you can just leave our pack with a head full of hate and come back all forgiving? You're irritating me!"

"Kurotora," Akame calmed him, "Tamashi has brought some new friends with her. Some friends that almost all of us know from our past. She might have left with resentment, but she's proven her feelings are as good as any other dog, as she is now happy."

The one-eyed Kai-dog nodded his head reluctantly, but couldn't help but reveal a bright shimmer in his one blue eye as he gazed at the wolves I had brought back with me.

"Everyone," I told every single one of the dogs, even to the ones that already knew, "this is Retsuga, Hyouma, Mugen, Joe, Koyuki, and Jerome. They were the ones who had helped me become a better dog, who had helped me see that there were actually were 'good guys' in the world, even if they were wolves."

I looked at Weed pleadingly, going down on my belly, raising my ass in the air, and bowing my head while keeping my eyes upon him. "Weed! I'm not going to ask your forgiveness, but if you can find it in your heart to do such a thing, then I'll happily accept your kindness."

Weed's sky blue eyes shone with hesitation and judgment as he proceeded to look at me. I could feel my heart pounding inside of my chest with fear, wishing to God that he would just say my judgement out loud.

It was then that Weed stared at me with an unreadable expression, opened up his mouth, and announced, " _Tamashi has brought back a friend I'd believed to be dead, proving that she has a sense of kindness to her. Furthermore, she has accepted a wolf – three wolves – as her family, even though they were different species! She has proven that you can find friendship with even different species, something that I would have never thought of! And for that, I now grant her a gift! A choice! She can choose to remain in Ohu with us or find a new home with her new family!"_ He glanced down at me. "What will you decide on, Tamashi?"

"Weed," I told him in a loud and respected voice, "I will choose to remain in Gajou if you promise me that you'll allow my newfound family to stay in Gajou with you! After all, you've accepted me. Why should you not accept others into your pack, even though you barely know some of them?"

Weed's eyes brimmed with a bright and understanding light as he finally saw his conclusion. "Everyone! It is my rule that Tamashi will live with us, along with her new family! Are there any objections to that?"

Nobody said anything.

"Very well!" Weed shouted. "Tamashi and her pack are permitted to live in Ohu!"

Every dog – and wolf – howled to the sky with agreement.

 ** _Now do you see why I had to bring Jerome back? :) Weed wouldn't have forgiven his own friend if she had just walked away with anger. I hope you're enjoying it so far! Please review!_**


	30. Chapter 30

A few hours – roughly six – had passed since everyone in my "newfound family" had been introduced to Weed's pack. The wolves were explaining to the younger generations – Weed's pack – about the history of Gin, his friends, and the wolves themselves. Joe had introduced himself to those who were unfamiliar with "Sakura" giving birth to the older, scarred Akita puppy. Jerome had decided to "catch up on some old times" and tell everyone about his interaction with the wolves, Joe, and Koyuki. And Weed was gazing at the beautiful white Kishu with admiration and affection.

Wanting to interact with the young one, I asked him, "Are you okay?"

Weed blinked his eyes and looked at me with embarrassment. "I'm sorry, Tamashi," he apologized. "I was just thinking about how beautiful Koyuki looks."

I winked at him. "She is very pretty, isn't she?" After hearing a sigh of sorrow come from him, I asked him, "What's stopping you from talking to her?"

"She reminds me so much of my mother," Weed muttered, causing me to gasp in understanding. "My mother had looked exactly like her. And judging by her smile, Koyuki might as well have the same personality as my mother." He lowered his head. "As beautiful as she is, I don't think I'd be able to be her mate."

"'Her mate'?" I echoed, finally coming to the realization. "I see," I said to him. "You want to love her because she looks so much like your mother, along with her personality. But you're afraid that if you do love her, then you'll end up losing her in the same way that your father had with your mother."

"Yes," Weed muttered, unable to stop a tear from rolling from his closed eyes. "And, if I do end up loving her, how can I be sure that nothing bad will come to her? What if I end up failing her as my father had with my mother?"

"Weed," I said to him softly, "I might not have understood your past between your mother and father, so I can't provide you with my own personal experience in that situation. I can, however, lend you a bit of guidance if you are interested in mating with Koyuki."

"How?" Weed asked curiously.

"Just because some random dog looks like someone you know doesn't mean that they're related," I explained to him. "Appearance doesn't differ from the same dog you think you know. There are plenty of dogs who look a lot alike, but it's all about personality. Which is why I'm trying to get you to understand that even though Koyuki looks a lot like your mother, she is not Sakura or related to her in any way, shape, or form."

Realizing I was rambling a bit, I focused back onto the matter at hand. "All I'm saying is that even though she might look like your mother, maybe _that's_ the reason why you want her as your mate. She shares so many physical and personality traits with your mother that you _want_ your mother to stay with you in that sort of way."

"Are you saying I really should have her as my mate?" Weed asked bewildered. "Still, it just doesn't seem right."

"It's not my choice if you want to," I told him, "but if you really want her as your mate, then I say go for it."

Weed, finally mustering up the courage, walked over to Koyuki who was observing the afternoon sky. "Koyuki?" he asked shyly, causing the white Kishu to smile. "Do you mind if I sit with you?"

"Of course, Weed," the white Kishu said, allowing Weed to sit next to her.

Weed inhaled deeply and looked at me before breathing out and talking to the white Kishu. "I couldn't help but notice you're . . . amazing amber eyes," he said, talking slow. "You remind me so much of my mother, your appearance and personality."

"Is that wrong?" Koyuki asked, tilting her head to the side.

"It's stopping me from asking you a serious question," Weed hesitated. "I was actually wondering if you would consider . . . becoming my mate."

The white Kishu closed her eyes and licked Weed lovingly on the cheek, whispering, "Of course, Weed."

Weed, having feel satisfaction and gratitude, looked over at me and smiled. "Thank you, Tamashi," he thanked with a grin.

 ** _Wow. Tamashi's becoming more like an understanding and lenient dog. Please review._**


	31. Chapter 31

Satisfied that Weed had gotten over his doubt of mating with Koyuki, I wandered into the large structure that was Gajou, ready to sleep after a full week and a half of training with my new family. After having been accepted into Weed's pack once more, after being saved by a wolf and allowing the wolf (and a couple of others) into my life, I felt that I deserved a nice and long rest. Walking inside the narrow passageways, I saw dozens of empty "rooms" – each one of them wide enough to hold about six dogs.

I was about to walk into one of the rooms, only for me to overhear two voices arguing with each other as I neared towards one of the "rooms" ahead of me. I recognized the voices instantly – Gin and Joe.

"How could you have left my mother alone?" Joe demanded. "Did you not realize that you're her mate? You just left her in the paws of some random dog, expecting that random dog to save her without any possible training!"

"I had put my full and complete trust in Smith," Gin responded as calmly as he could, though I heard the guilt in his voice. "He was one of my trusted friend, an Ohu General."

"Well then," Joe snapped, "why didn't he last as long as my brother? He might have been an Ohu General, but he was probably old and crippled! He was weak as to let your mate – my mother – die of illness!"

"Joe," Gin muttered, "if you can find it in your heart to forgive me–"

"I don't want your forgiveness, father!" Joe growled, spitting out the words "father" and "want" with so much hate. "I want my mother back! So both Weed and I can show her what amazing dogs we've become! But she's not around anymore thanks to you and your stupid and naïve mind!"

Gin's voice cracked with extreme remorse as he struggled to say, "Joe, my son."

"I won't forgive you unless you realize the awful emotional pain you've put me through," Joe hissed, finally storming out of the cave before me. He grumpily padded away and passed me without acknowledging me in the least.

Turning my head towards the cave from which Joe had walked out of, I approached the cave slowly and cautiously. "Gin?" I asked, hesitantly. "I don't mean to intrude on you and your son's conversation, but I noticed how much guilt you probably still feel by leaving your mate Sakura alone to care for Weed. Surely you must have had a reason for leaving Sakura."

Gin replied in a soft, but sorrowful tone. "I had left her in the paws of several trained dogs," he told me. "It was truly my fault for not knowing for what danger would come, or what sort of fate had awaited my family. I had assumed that my family would be safe from any sort of harm. There was no possible way for her to avoid any sort of sickness."

"You didn't know, Gin," I told him in a reassuring voice. "It was never your fault for not knowing what could have happened while you were gone. I don't want to say that you were blind, but you were unaware of the dangers that could have happened. You had thought you'd taken Sakura to a place where she would've been safe. You thought she'd be protected by other dogs in a very physical form. You had no idea of the health dangers that could've overcame her." I inhaled and exhaled deeply. "You shouldn't put yourself so low when you didn't know the horrible consequences."

"Thank you, Tamashi," Gin replied with a smile of complete relief. "With your ability to understand and your ability to accept others of different species, also with the right Bear-Hound soul, you'd be able to make a wonderful Leader."

"I'll be happy to accept that title when it comes," I answered with a nod of gratitude. Yawning out of exhaustion, I looked over at the room I was about to enter and told Gin, "Hey. I'm going to sleep for a little while. I need to rest."

"I see," Gin nodded. "Have a nice sleep, Tamashi."

Smiling my thanks, I walked back into the cave I was destined to be and curled up, finally sleeping.

 ** _Aww. Tamashi's being lenient and caring towards others. Please review this story._**


	32. Chapter 32

I woke up after a period of roughly thirty minutes, yawning and stretching out my muscles. After shaking my head and blinking my eyes away from the sleep, I focused my sight on the exit/entrance of Gajou and headed outside of the rocky structure.

I examined my surroundings, seeing that everyone in Weed's and my own pack were interacting with one another. The Ohu veterans were talking to the wolves. Jerome was conversing with the younger dogs about how he had survived. Koyuki was softly exchanging words with Gin. Finally, I spotted Weed playing gently with his brother, Joe.

For a brief millisecond, I couldn't tell the difference between the two. It was only after that Joe had turned around to stare at the sunset before him that I saw some seriously bad looking scars on his back and neck. From the point on, I determined their differences in appearance by Joe's scars.

"Weed!" I called out to the Akita brothers, causing them to look at me with curious expressions. "Joe!"

"Tamashi," Joe said with a respectful nod.

"Would you like to play with us?" Weed asked eagerly, placing his paws in the air and wagging his tail.

"Actually," I responded honestly, "I would like to know how you became the Leader of Ohu. It was probably because of your heritage, wasn't it? You came from a long line of Leaders, such as your father, right?"

"It wasn't because of my Bear-Dog heritage," Weed replied. "It was because of my sense of mercy. I'm sure how Rocket, Kite, Buruge, and Bat had told you about their alliance with Hougen. And how they decided to repent because of the kindness my father and I had shared with them."

"Who exactly was Hougen?" I asked, curiously and confused.

"He was a power-hungry Harlequin Great Dane who's goal was to take over all of Japan, including Ohu," Weed explained. "He had a brother named Genba and together they had captured my father and put him through torture in order for no one to stand in his way."

"What happened to him?" I questioned, wanting to hear how Hougen was defeated.

"After my father had escaped from his prison, he contacted me and told me to do whatever it took to bring down Hougen," Weed proceeded. "It was in the middle of a light snow storm, but even after being cornered by many of my friends he had overpowered them one-by-one. It was only after that I had used the Battouga on him and shoved him into a river, after that he had used my friend Mel as a stepping stone in order for him to spring out of the river, that I began to fight him in a one-on-one battle."

"Did you win?" I asked.

"It was a long and brutal battle with me _ended up being killed_ ," Weed frowned. "However, the souls of the past deceased Ohu warriors had brought me back to life and allowed me to make one final Battouga to Hougen. However, Hougen had evaded this attack, but with the wind's help I managed to turn myself around and strike down Hougen, biting deeply into his skull and squeezing an eye."

"You did that?" I gaped with amazement. "Did you kill Hougen?"

"No," Weed responded. "He was still alive, but as soon as my father had pinned him down, he had told me to kill him. I told him that I couldn't do such a thing and refused. My father was about to kill Hougen, but I stopped him before he could crush his neck."

"WHAT?!" I hollered. "WHY?"

"I had told my father – everyone – that if you killed just because you can't forgive," Weed went on, "that wars will never end. And that kindness was the key to opening up the eyes of my enemies – just as it had with Rocket and Hougen's one-time Generals. Besides, Hougen was still alive, but in a very critical condition. He probably wouldn't have lasted long anyway."

"How do you know he won't come back again?" I demanded in a soft but cold voice.

"He was shot in the head by some human," Weed proceeded. "Akame went to check out the loud gun shot and saw Hougen with his head open and his brain splattered all over the snow." "Did you know the hunter was around?" I questioned, more calmly this time. "Did any of your pack members send for help in order for them to do the dirty work for you?" I shot my eyes open. "Maybe Jerome had sent the human. He had told me that every time one of your enemies tried to flee that it was always him who had stopped them."

"I had doubt it," Weed said, lowering his head. "I was sure the hunter came of his own free will."

Before I could say anymore, a realization came to me. Weed would always make sure that someone got a second chance at life, even his worst enemies. Dogs were as other dogs as humans were to other humans. It might not have been true, but it was my strong belief that if Weed had killed a dog – one of his own kind – that he'd be killing a human if he was a young human boy. I finally understood his sense of moral.

Despite being innocent, he was more ready to kill those who were not dogs (people in his own eyes), such as Kaibutsu and a large boar. He still had an unusually strong sense of justice, even for a little puppy. Even though Weed was still a puppy and was more than ready to _fight_ off those of his own kind, he possessed a strong sense of forgiveness and redemption towards those who he felt could change.

Finally understanding Weed's motives and what he had always desired, I nodded my head in respect. "I get it now, Weed," I told him with a smile of kindness. "All you want is peace, but you know that in order to strive for peace you'll have to fight. And you're more than willing to fight those of your own kind and kill those who aren't. You believe that in order to achieve such a peace that you'll have to redeem everyone around you. But, I can see that, even if you've defeated and seriously wounded your enemy, you'll let them live because – even though you're doing them a favor by letting them live – you're also allowing them to die because of the wounds you've inflicted on them. So even if they do live, they won't get very far."

"Are you saying that you agree with my sense of moral, Tamashi?" Weed asked curiously.

"I'm saying that," I said, finally bowing my head in submission while keeping my eyes on him, "if you're willing to push on with this sense of moral that you obtain within your heart, that I will finally, fully, and completely accept you as my Leader, _soudaisho_."

"Tamashi," Weed breathed with shock. After regaining his composure, he smiled down at me and gently licked my forehead. "If that is what you wish, then I shall accept you as a new pack member. _A member of the Ohu pack_."

A sense of pride bloomed within my heart as I lifted myself up from my bow. " _Arigato_ , Weed," I said with deep and honest respect.

 ** _Is it getting better? How do you like Tamashi's understanding of Weed's morals? Please review._**


	33. Chapter 33

With Weed's acceptance towards me in my mind, I leaped upon Gajou with my jumping skills, making the very top point upon the rocky structure with a simple bound of my legs. My sky blue eyes scanned the forest, fields, and the mountains that was all Ohu. Birds flew past me, chirping their songs as they fluttered. The spring breeze blew in my face, drifting a familiar scent into my nose – the scent of a dog . . . the scent of blood. My erect ears listened carefully for any signs of a wounded dog, finally hearing a weakened voice whimpering, "Help me."

Leaping down from Gajou, I faced Weed with a look of reassurance. "Hey, Weed? I'm going to look for more dogs to join us, alright?"

"Why, Tamashi?" Weed asked.

"Even though I didn't hear you specifically say it," I told him, "I knew that your wishes were to bring any stray dogs into your pack if they needed a home to stay in. Wasn't it your wish to bring peace to all dogs? If you're going to keep that peace, why not bring in more dogs into the Paradise of Ohu?"

Weed, finally smiling in agreement, told me, "Alright. But I won't make them stay if they don't want to join us. Go ahead and bring as many dogs as you want."

Nodding my thanks, I took off to where I had smelled the blood and heard the whimpering from earlier. After a few seconds of zooming past the forest and easily leaping over the gorge to Gajou, I had to skid to a stop when I once again the whimpering.

"Someone help me," a male voice whimpered, making me look to my right. It was then I saw the source of the blood and painful whimpering. Peering through a bush, I saw a full grown mixed breed black and white dog. His ears were torn off, possibly ripped off by another stronger dog. However, the attribute that interested me the most was the dozens of scars that lay all over his body, all in threes and reaching about twelves inches long.

"Who are you?" I asked curiously. I didn't want to attack unless if he posed a threat to me.

"My name is Bob," the brutally scarred dog replied with a fearful smile. His eyes glimmered with fear as soon as he saw me. "I . . . I was told that I would be seeing the great Leader of Ohu here."

"What are your reasons for being here in Ohu?" I demanded softly.

"All I'm asking for is some place safe to hide in," Bob hesitated, nearly wetting himself. "If _he_ ever found out I was here, I'd be in big trouble."

"He?" I echoed suspiciously. "You mean Scimitar?"

"N-N-N-No," Bob stammered, fear lingering in his eyes. "Someone else. Someone more powerful."

"'Someone more powerful'?" I repeated. "If it's not Scimitar, then who is it?" Realizing I wasn't using my manners, I shook my head and focused myself again. "I'm terribly sorry, Bob. My name is Tamashi."

"Are you the Leader?" Bob asked hesitantly. "You look like you could be."

"Thank you for the complement," I said, "but I'm not the Leader. W-Why don't you join us in case if whoever-the-hell-'he'-is reveals himself? Until then, we'll take care of your wounds."

"Thank you very much, Tamashi," Bob muttered submissively before following me back towards Gajou. When we came to the gorge, I allowed him to climb on my back and leaped over the deep ravine. Eventually, we came towards Gajou where Weed was waiting for us.

"Tamashi," Weed said, looking genuinely pleased when I approached Gajou with my – our – new addition to the Ohu pack. However, his eyes widened in shock when he saw the dog's scars, soon rushing over to Bob and asking, "Mister! What happened to you?"

"I was attacked by a large bear years ago," Bob responded, causing me to glare at the dog with suspicion. "Luckily, I managed to get away just in time. These scars are all I have left from my past."

As much as my conscience was telling me to accept this dog's words, the wary side of me was screaming at me to be on my claws and watch out in case if "Bob" tried anything. But the fear I had seen in his eyes with genuine. Maybe it was best if he did deserve a second chance, as I had with Mugen.

"Everyone!" Weed announced to the rest of the dogs, causing every single dog in Weed's pack to gather around Gajou. "Tamashi has found a new dog wandering outside of Gajou! His name is Bob and he is going to be staying with us until he decides to leave!"

"Hello, everyone," Bob said hesitantly, causing every dog in Weed's pack to turn around and see the new dog standing right beside me. "I'm Bob."

"Damn!" Kyoushiro muttered, grimacing at the sight of body. "Not even _I_ have that many scars."

"Don't judge someone by their looks, Kyoushiro," Tesshin told the white scarred Kishu calmly. "Appearance doesn't matter. It's the personality of the dog that matters."

"So," Bob asked, "would it be alright if I stayed with you all until I found a new place to live in?"

"Of course, Bob." Gin welcomed the badly scarred dog, along with everyone else in the pack.

 ** _How are you liking it so far?_**


	34. Chapter 34

After hearing my stomach rumble, I stood up and told my Leader, "Hey. I'm going to ask Jerome and Retsuga if they want to hunt with me, alright? I won't be long."

Understanding my desires, Weed nodded. "Alright."

Smiling, I turned away from Weed and walked over to where Jerome and Retsuga were, calling out to them. "Jerome? Retsuga? Do you two want to hunt with me?"

The one-eared Shepherd and one-eyed wolf looked at each other with understanding and nodded, soon glancing in my direction. "Of course, Tamashi," they answered, sending a ripple of joy through my body.

With Jerome flanking my left and Retsuga at my side, we passed the borders of Gajou and Futago's Pass itself and eventually came to a lush, green forest. The trees were about twenty-feet high and the branches were shrouded with leaves, more than enough cover to hide from potential enemies If there was any need for it). The thick bushes and dark emerald were thick and full, seemingly blocking out any sign of appearance of us. Birds and crows flapped their wings, totally ignoring the threat that we really posed.

Finally, I heard a low voice ask, "Brother, are you sure our father was here? We've looked for him almost everywhere." From that voice, I could also catch the scent of another dog. Except there were three other dogs with him.

"We have to keep moving, Seiryu," another voice responded. "I won't rest until I know my father is safe."

The genuine concern in the voice made me slowly appear out of the dense forest shrubs. "Excuse me," I called out in a soft and gentle voice, allowing me to witness four Siberian Huskies. Two of them were black and white, while the other two were different color. One of them was a brownish-orange with eye markings. The other Husky was a lighter shade of brown.

"Who are you?"

"We are Seiryu and Suzaku," the black and white Huskies responded. "This is Genbu–" he motioned his head to the red-orange Husky, "– and Byakko." Seiryu glanced over at the reddish Husky.

"Wait!" Jerome gasped. "You're all Hakuro's puppies, aren't you?"

"Who is Hakuro?" Both me and Retsuga questioned with curious confusion.

"He too was one of Gin's dogs that had helped fight against Akakabuto," Jerome explained.

"So," I questioned the Huskies, "where is your father now? Is he hunting?"

"We don't know where he is," Seiryu responded in a low tone, soon lifting his head afterwards. "But we're positive that we'll eventually find him."

Retsuga asked politely, "Why don't all four of you come with us to Gajou? Maybe after you three rest from your journey you'll be able to find him when you're rejuvenated."

"It's a wolf!" Byakko shouted, trembling in fear. "Those things are dog killers!"

Had I been in the same situation that they were in, I would've felt the exact same way. However, I was no longer the villain or wolf slayer I had been when I first came to Ohu. I had to defend my new friend and mentor.

"My mentor and friend Retsuga is _nothing_ like the wolves you know," I assured them calmly. "Wolves, as you already know, are the ascendants of the dog. Humans have just been breeding the wolf into man's creation, the dog. Wolves were _once_ man's friend, but their aggression had to be ceased and, in order to ensure that the 'trained wolves' would no longer have the aggression issue, man had bred wolves into 'man's best friend'."

Byakko, realizing the wisdom and truth of my words, stopped his snarling and stared at me with amazement. His head was tilted to the side, but instead of confusion lingering in those icy blue eyes, there was the glimmer of awe. "That's so wise of you, ma'am," he whispered.

"Are you a Leader?" Suzaku questioned, an eager smile releasing happy pants.

"No," I answered honestly. "I'm not a Leader. Hell, I'm not even a small pack leader. I just have . . . a lot of experience and two very amazing mentors that taught me to think exactly like an elderly dog."

"Well," Seiryu added, "experience comes with wisdom, even if it's not otherworldly." He smiled looking up at the sky above him. "At least, that's what our father had told us."

"I wish I knew your father," I said, lowering my head at the ground. For a brief milli-second, I almost wished that I had been in the battle with Akakabuto. I wished I could have seen so many wonderful dogs fighting for their territory against the bear's supposedly tyrannical nature. I wished I could have shown my own fighting skill and slaughtered the demonic creature with ease.

"I'm Tamashi," I said, finally lifting my head up. "It's a pleasure to meet the sons of such a great warrior."

"I'm Retsuga," the pale-blue wolf said to the Huskies with a polite smile.

"My name is Jerome," the one-eared Shepherd introduced himself.

"So," I said, motioning towards the direction of Gajou, "let's go back to Gajou."

After leading the four Huskies over the gorge and through the forest, we came to Gajou.

"Weed!" I called out to my Leader. "We've brought some new dogs!"

"Who are they?" Weed asked curiously, finally seeing the four Huskies that came with me, Retsuga, and Jerome.

"Suzaku," Suzaku greeted.

"Seiryu," Seiryu addressed himself.

"Byakko," Byakko spoke in a calm and friendly manner.

"Genbu," Genbu replied.

Possibly overhearing our conversation, the rest of Weed's pack came out to greet the newcomers. One by one they all introduced themselves.

"Why did you bring them?" Weed questioned.

"They said they wanted a place to stay until their father came back," I told Weed. "They're all only a year old. I thought it wouldn't be fair if I just let them back there without a safe place to stay."

"It's fine," Weed responded with a smile, soon looking at the Huskies. "You may stay as long as you want, alright?"

"Yes, Weed," the Huskies said with their heads bowed in respect.

 ** _What do you guys think?_**


	35. Chapter 35

I strolled over to Weed, waning to ask him if I was making a right choice in taking in Hakuro's puppies in. Seiryu had told me that his father could've been looking for him and his brothers. However, possibly out of impatience or worry, Seiryu and his brothers didn't want to stick around and went to go out looking for their father Hakuro (whoever he was) on his own.

However, Gin was the first to call me over to him. "Tamashi! Come here please!"

Without hesitation, I strolled over to Gin, bowing my head in respectful submission. "Yes, Gin?" I asked curiously.

"I'm very proud and glad of you of what you've done today," he praised me softly.

"You've taken in four of my comrade's puppies. You were worried that – due to their young age – they wouldn't survive on their own."

"'Your comrade's puppies'?" I echoed. "This 'Hakuro' dog was your friend?"

"He wasn't just any dog," Gin replied with pride. "He was a black Siberian Husky with two scars raking vertically over his right eye. He was very skilled, even given the nickname 'Hakuro, The Brown-Bear Slayer'. And I had seen first-hand how skilled he was at fighting such gigantic creatures."

"Who were your other comrades?" I asked, eager to learn more.

"A German Shepherd named John," Gin answered. "He was a very strong-willed dog, but overly aggressive and very impulsive. He would attack anyone who he felt would give him the slightest trouble. At first we were rivals, as he had slaughtered two bear cubs before my eyes. Our rivalry eventually diminished as he lead me to the pack that was led by four captains – Ben, Cross, Smith, and Great."

"Smith and Great?" I questioned with a tilt of my head.

"I hadn't really known Great that well," Gin admitted honestly. "Smith, however, was very funny Springer Spaniel – sarcastic and witty. He would always make the other dogs laugh even in the unnecessary ways. He had been given the task to watch over my mate Sakura, but –

as my son had told me – eventually lost sight of her, causing himself such grief when she had died of illness. I hadn't actually witnessed with my own eyes of how he had died, but – according to my son – a genetically mutated German Shepherd had attacked Ohu. Smith and Weed had tried to stop him, but Smith – before rescuing Weed – had eventually fallen."

"That's awful," I whimpered, feeling tears well up in my eyes. Blinking them away, I questioned, "What about John?"

"He was eventually killed by Hougen," Gin sighed mournfully. "But, I heard that he stood his ground until the end. He never once surrendered to the enemy, not now and not even then."

"He sounded like an amazing dog," I breathed with awe. "What about your other friends? Weed's pack had already told me about Akatora, Chutora, Benizakura, Hyena's betrayal towards Moss' pack, the history of the Iga and Koga Ninja-Dog clans, and a tiny fraction of a Leader named Riki."

"Riki," Gin smiled somberly, "was my father. I was just eight-weeks-old when my human boy Daisuke and his grandfather Gohe were out hunting bears, having come across Akakabuto himself. My father had struggled to protect me when I was separated from Daisuke's hands, only for him to throw me back into my human boy's arms. Eventually, he was gravely injured and thrown out of sight . . . of everyone that knew him at that time."

"How did he survive?" I asked eagerly.

"To this day," Gin admitted, "I still don't know. Although he did survive, he eventually had amnesia, unable to recognize even me, his own son. Even without his memory, he was still a very skilled and amazing fighter, capable of tearing off a bear's head clean off from its shoulders. Before he had died, he had warned me to not use the _Zetsu Tenrou Battouga_. He had feared that the wolves would come after me or him in revenge."

"Your father had learned the attack of a wolf?" I gasped in shock. "So, is the _Battouga_ passed down genetically?"

"No," Gin responded. "I'm sure that Retsuga told you that there were Eight Canine Warriors of Sirius–The Light Side. Well, Akame, Kurotora, Ben, and I were four out of the eight warriors of light, while the other four were wolves."

"You four were capable of learning a different Battouga?" I asked, shivering with ecstasy.

"Yes," Gin said, soon ceasing my excitement. "However, due to time and the downfall of the underworld, all but one of the Battougas – and all but a few wolves – were forgotten."

"What Battouga was that?" I questioned.

"The _Zetsu Tenrou Battouga_ ," Gin replied. "It was a technique that I had passed onto Tesshin as Akame, John, and my own student. In return, Tesshin had taught the _Battouga_ to my son, Weed."

"That's pretty amazing," I said, wagging my tail and panting happily. Regaining my composure, I stood straight, suddenly remembering an evil dog. "Who was this Sniper dog?"

"Sniper was a Doberman," Gin said with bared fangs, "bent on killing those who stood in his way of power. Including Tesshin. Including Ben. Including me. Including my son. I have no idea how, but he had somehow coated his legs in a very sharp metal coating. He was capable of inflicting awful injuries to his enemies, mortally wounding or killing them with one simple swipe of his metallic legs."

"What happened to him?" I asked.

"He had tried to attack me from above a cliff by leaping down at me with his legs," Gin explained. "However, he had missed and his legs crashed into the ice, revealing a rushing river below the two of us. I had left him to die."

"Did he die?" I demanded softly.

"He wasn't seen in the final battle against Hougen," Gin said. "I assumed he drowned long time ago. It had been four weeks after the fight with Hougen."

For a brief millisecond, I was about to rant towards Gin about how foolish he was as to let one of his most dangerous enemies live. However, I had reminded myself that it had been winter and even if Sniper had been alive, he wouldn't have made it far. Plus, with the cold temperature of the water and the jagged rocks leading down below, he probably would have died of frostbite and blood loss.

"I see, Gin," I said, nodding my head in understanding. A smile slowly rose upon my lips. "You're just like your son in that way – always willing to give others a second chance but also more than willing to kill those who've betrayed their promise. You – and your son – are amazing Leaders."

"Thank you, Tamashi," Gin thanked me, allowing me to bow my head in respect.

 ** _Tamashi's finally starting to see a new light. How do you think she'll proceed to follow that light? Please review._**


	36. Chapter 36

"Gin," I offered, "I might not have the estimated time of when or how Scimitar will get here. But, if he is coming here, with the same intent to kill everyone in your pack as he had with my own, I'm afraid it's all over."

"Who is Scimitar?" Gin questioned.

"He's a wolf," I responded. "He's a black wolf with ash-grey mane sprouting from his neck. He has a scar in the shape of an upside down cross over his left eye. Both of his eyes are a . . . _terrifying_ shade of icy blue."

"What was this wolf's personality?" Gin proceeded.

"Pure demonic evil," I whispered, unable to stop myself from pissing myself in horror. "I had met him when I was only three weeks old – and that was the first and last time in three years of my life. He had _massacred_ **my entire pack** , killing _every . . . single . . . dog_ in my family. He didn't care if they were young or old, pup or adult, big or small. He even slaughtered my own mother _right in front of my eyes_ , all so he could _relish_ in my heartache and horror."

"Did he at least have a reason for doing all that he'd done to you?" Gin asked in a calm manner.

"No," I responded with a growl. "He had no other reason other than the sick-ass joy of watching others suffer, scream, and bleed."

Gin narrowed his sky-blue eyes in disgust. "I've never heard of such a dog or wolf that would do such a thing," he whispered. "Hougen and Sniper had done what they had out of power-lust. Akakabuto was driven mad by the loss of his eye. Gaia, even though he was a wolf ruler of the underworld, had committed his crimes out of tyranny."

"Scimitar is a fucking hell of a lot scarier than any wolf, dog, or bear," I whimpered. "And for everyone's sake, I hope that none of Weed's pack members, Weed himself, or yourself have to even catch a glimpse of him."

"If he really is as sadistic as you say he is," Gin said with a nod of his head, "then starting in a few hours, I'll have every single dog – big and small, pup and adult, young and old – in Weed's pack train to their fullest. I'll have Retsuga, Tesshin, Akame, Jerome, Weed, and myself train them in every trait – speed, strength, skill, evasiveness, endurance, and claw and fang power."

"Do you mind if I go outside of Futago's Pass to look for more soldiers we can train?" I asked the scarred Akita.

"Of course," Gin replied with a kind smile. "I want you to bring as many strong dogs as you possibly can."

Nodding, I made my out of the borders of Gajou, crossed the gorge easily, and slowly strolled along the path outside of Futago's Pass. For a couple of hours, I was almost defeated, not from exhaustion, but of the thought that there wouldn't be any dogs around to help out with the fight against Scimitar.

Just as I was about to give up, a scream of agony rang through the forest, causing me to bolt to my left. Peering from behind a few boulders, I finally caught sight of a bleeding black and white Siberian Husky with two scars running vertically down his left eye. Instantly, even though I haven't met the dog personally, and judging by Gin's story of his past comrades, I recognized the dog . . . Hakuro!

Unfortunately, that wasn't all I saw. Mercilessly and brutally tearing into him with their wickedly sharp fangs were five German Shepherds – four of them male and one female. One of the males had scars all over his body, giving off a menacing appearance. The second male's right eye had possibly been shot out by a hunter. The third male's snout had been ripped clean off by some knife or another sharp object. The fourth male was unscarred. Finally, the sky-blue beautifully deadly female had nothing to bare but four glistening white fangs.

"Ha ha ha!" the scarred male laughed sadistically. Compared to Scimitar's voice, this Shepherd's laugh sounded more annoying than menacing.

"You think you – a puny little Husky – can stop me from taking over this land?" he went on, leering down at the bleeding Hakuro with arrogant triumph. "I'm Victor the strong! You have no damn clue who you're dealing with!"

"Perhaps not," I growled, leaping out from behind the rocks and standing directly in front of Hakuro defensively. "But I know you're nothing more than a **_wuss_** who's nothing compared to the real devil that's out there massacring little **_bitches_** like you!"

Victor impulsively leaped for my throat, only for me to quickly turn around and kick him right in the lower jaw with my hind paws. The force of the kick sent him sprawling to the ground, allowing me to stand over him and press a paw down on his jaw.

"Whath doo ye thikk yurr dooin?" Victor roared, unable to speak properly with his entire mouth shoved into the earth. "Giitt huur!"

The bone-jawed Shepherd aimed for my unprotected neck, unable to react in time when I whirled around and bite him on the tail. Without giving him a second to react, I began swinging him into the other two male Shepherds, knocking all of them over. Finding that the males were stunned, I threw the bone-jawed Shepherd into the air and released him so that he would fall to the ground.

I steered my head away to look for the female, only for four fangs to wrap around my hind leg. However, she was less fortunate when I had kicked her right in the face, causing her to release my leg. Finally regaining my stance, I leaped at the female, tackled her, and we both rolled around on the floor biting, growling, and scratching furiously. The fierce struggle ended up with me finally pinning her down with my right paw at her throat.

"I really don't want to resort to being such a monster lie Scimitar," I hissed, "but if I have to force you in order to join me then so be it!"

"S-S-Scimitar?" all four of the Shepherds gasped in horror, causing me to glance around them in confusion. "He's here?"

"You actually know that bastard?" I demanded, not even bothering to look down as I lifted my paw away from the blue female's throat.

"He's called Scimitar the Kinslayer," the blue female whimpered, trembling in horror. "He's called that because he had killed so many of his own kind. He even killed his own brother in order to gain control of his pack." She began to cry. "But he's not looking for power or control. He's looking for fear, agony, and torture in any way he can. He's even killed wolves of the underworld, or what was the left of the Sirius Canine-Warriors of Darkness. He just slaughters innocent or even the not-so-innocent, all for the sheer pleasure – for the highest peak of joy – of watching others suffer."

"Is that why you want to 'recruit us', bitch?" Victor demanded. It was then that I finally saw the doubt in his eyes. "You want us to join you in order to take down such an evil warlord?"

"Of course," I replied with furious honesty. "You might be brutally murdering this poor dog, but – due to my ability to understand forgiveness by my Leader – I'm going to forgive you all because you're really strong, but merciless and cowardly by attacking one dog like a pack of wolves and a moose."

"Why would we ever want to join a bitch like you?" the one-eyed Shepherd asked coldly.

"If you don't," I warned him, "then you'll have to watch as Scimitar brutally kills every . . . single . . . one of you at a time. You might be cruel Shepherds, but Scimitar is a heartless, sadistic bastard. He'll kill all of you without the slightest ounce of remorse."

Victor turned to the rest of his males and female, watching as they all nodded. Finally agreeing with their response, the heavily scarred Shepherd said in a cold and reluctant voice, "Alright. We'll join you."

"Thank you," I said, looking towards Hakuro with sympathy. "I'll take him back to Gajou. You'll have all day to finally catch up to me. I'll introduce you to Weed's pack once you get there. Give me a howl when you're ready."

Lowering my body down to the ground, I motioned for Hakuro to climb onto my back and – with my speed – leaped off into the distance in search of a healing spring. Eventually, we came to one of the springs, allowing me to slowly lower Hakuro into one of the warm and healing water.

-Four days later-

Finally seeing that Hakuro's wounds have healed, I lead him out of the pool and we ran together towards the Shepherd pack that attempted to kill him. "Let's go," I ordered, tossing my head at Futago's Pass and leading them towards the gorge to which they all leaped over with ease. As soon as we came towards Gajou, Weed, Jerome, and Hakuro's children were the first to appear out of the rocky structure.

"Father?" Seiryu asked timidly. "Is that you?"

"Hakuro?" Gin asked, a smile of joy spreading across his lips.

"It's me," Hakuro greeted, allowing his children and his long-time friend to gently tackle him to the ground.

"Who did you fi–" Jerome stopped in an instant when he caught sight of the beautiful blue Shepherd that was gazing back at him in lust. "H-H-Hello there, miss. What is your name?"

"I'm Lydia," the blue female said in a kind voice. "This is Alam–" She tilted her head towards the bone-jawed Shepherd, "–Victor–" She glanced at the scarred Shepherd with uncertainty, "–Bozlev–" She flicked an ear at the unscarred Shepherd with her ear, "–and my brother, Maxime." She finally grinned with pride at the one-eyed Shepherd."

"Well done, Tamashi," Weed said, pride glowing in his eyes. "You did very well. You decided to spare them instead of killing them out of hate when they'd been hurting Hakuro."

"You mean you actually spied on me?" I gasped.

"I had Bat spy on you," he replied honestly. "I had to see through his eyes that you would follow my example on peace. And you passed the test – General Tamashi."

"'General Tamashi'?" I echoed, watching as every single dog before me bowed their bodies in respectful submission. After gaping at them with awe, I welcome their bows towards me and announced, "Thank you, Weed. I shall follow you, guide you, and accept you as my Leader!"

"Praise for our new General!" Weed howled to the sky, allowing every other dog to cry out with joy.

 ** _Awesome! Tamashi just became a General of Ohu! Should I continue?_**


	37. Chapter 37

"Wait, Weed!" I called after the silvery-blue Akita yearling, who stopped to face me. "Do you mind if I talk to you for a little moment?"

"Of course, Tamashi." Weed allowed the offer with a smile. "Do you want to go inside Gajou?"

"Yes," I said, following him into Gajou until we came to one of the "rooms". After finding that we were both alone, I sat down on my haunches and staring at Weed with an expression of seriousness.

"Weed," I told him, "I've heard from Jerome, your friends, and father about what you have done to gain your place as Leader of the entire Ohu pack. I've heard about your mercy. And, after following your ideals of peace and mercy, after following in your steps of what you would do if you were in the situations that I was with Hakuro's sons, after showing mercy towards the vicious Shepherd pack and asking them to join the Ohu army, I finally realize that all you want is peace in any way you can get it."

"What are you saying, Tamashi?" Weed asked curiously.

"I'm saying," I explained, "that in my eyes you're pretty much like an innocent angel. Even when you didn't even know me, you were kind and gentle enough to allow me into staying with you and your pack. You were kind, gentle, and understanding. And, sometimes, those are much better qualities than just being fearless and brave."

Weed smiled with joy and bowed his head. "I'm glad I could be your 'savior', Tamashi."

"And," I added, "if you want, since you don't have a mother anymore, I can be your mother. I'll accept your wishes, your dreams for peace, and your morals. I'll protect you with my life, guarding you from any sort of evil that happens to come our way. And with you, being a young, strong, brave, quick, and clever dog, I'll accept you as not only my son but also my teacher, in case if you ever want to show me some more attacks."

To my great excitement and joy, I watched as Weed smiled and walked up to me, nuzzling my chest with his snout. "I'll happily accept your offer, Tamashi."

 ** _AWESOME! So what do you guys think? Is it getting better so far?_**


	38. Chapter 38

After Weed had left, I had begun to relax fully and completely. Weed had changed my heart, my emotions, and my soul for the better. He had made me witness a new light, as he had with Rocket, Bat, Kite, and Buruge. He had made me see my faults, made me see that hatred, spite, and revenge was never the answer. He had reformed me into a new dog, a dog who had accepted wolves and redeemed such brutal Shepherds.

Weed was an angel – pure and kind. He deserved to be such a Leader. I had been wrong to scorn him for what he had done to his enemies. I had been wrong to doubt his true and just nature. He really was a Leader.

"Tamashi?" Mugen's voice snapped me out of my thoughts. "Do you mind if I ask you a very personal question?

"Sure," I said with a kind expression. "What is it?"

Mugen cleared his throat, unable to do anything to get his words out. "I was just wondering if–" His voice then lowered to a whisper. "If you'd–" He inhaled deeply and whispered something in my right ear, causing me to gasp in shock. "Will you do such a thing, for me?"

"But," I protested softly, "if he comes in and sees that I'm helpless while doing such a thing, then we're both dead. I think we should wait until after the fight to decide such a thing." Before Mugen could look away, I stopped him. "But," I called after him, "if you're willing to do such a thing for me, then I'll promise something to you in return." With that said, I whispered something in his left ear.

"Deal?" I asked.

Mugen looked at me with love, speaking out the word that sealed such a promise. "Deal."

After Mugen and I left the cave of Gajou, we stood in front of all of the Ohu dogs. With a deep breath, I called out to the dogs, "Dogs of Ohu! I, General Tamashi of Tengoku, have decided to make such an extraordinary decision. _I will willingly accept Mugen as my mate if agrees to have puppies with me!"_

Every single one of the dogs – including the Shepherd pack, Hakuro, and Hakuro's puppies – howled with joy, crying out, "Well done, Tamashi!"

 ** _Aww! Tamashi's going to have puppies with a wolf! Hooray for wolf-dogs! I'm terribly sorry about this short chapter, but I had to add that extra surprise without giving away too much, you know?_**


	39. Chapter 39

"Hey," I told Mugen softly, "I'm going to sleep for a while, okay? I'll be right out after my nap."

"I understand," Mugen said with a nod of his head and leaving me alone in the "room" of Gajou. As soon as Mugen's footsteps left Gajou itself, I closed my eyes and began to sleep – began to _dream_.

 _I was standing face to face with the devil of a wolf who had brought hell itself before my eyes. He was grinning his usual maniacal leer, sneering back at me with glistening fangs and icy blue eyes. "Little Tamashi," he mocked. "You really think you can defeat me all by yourself? I've lived ten times more lives than you ever had in your pitiful three years of fear."_

 _However, instead of shivering, whimpering, or doing anything that might've signified that I was afraid, I leered back at him. My reaction towards his evil mockery had shocked him._

 _"_ _Bitch please," I snarled, licking my fangs. "You expect to get away with everything you've done to every single dog you've come in contact with. You expect that you're going to walk away Scott-free with blood on your paws."_

 _It was my turn to grin deviously. "What if I proved you wrong, mother fucker?"_

 _"_ _How so?" Scimitar laughed._

 _"_ _Have you ever heard of a wolf called Retsuga?" I mocked him, as he had once towards me. "Well, let's just say that he had taught me a very powerful technique. An attack called the_ _ **Zetsu Tenrou Battouga**_ _, you fucker."_

 _"_ _You're bluffing," Scimitar laughed, only for my eyes to shimmer with defiance and bravery in response. To my great joy, he actually cringed in what seemed like horror. "You're bluffing!" he shouted, clearly not wanting to believe me._

 _"_ _Hmm," I muttered, licking my fangs. "You think so? Why don't we test it out?" With the meaningless dialogue finished, I rushed at the wolf, leaped into the air, and spun around in a very fast motion while snapping my fangs._

 _SPLITCHK!_

 _As soon as my fangs left the skull, blood exploded from the wound like a fountain. Shards of bone scattered the ground beneath us. A chunk of the demonic wolf's brain had been gouged right out of his head, leaving the bastard's eyes to glimmer with absolute horror. Finally, the wolf slumped to the ground, weakened beyond all movement to even attempt to struggle. The devilish light in his eyes finally dimmed, turning into black with death._

 _Upon seeing the bastard's death with my own eyes, I howled with triumph._

"Tamashi?" a kind voice asked, causing me to snap out of my happy dream and look up at Mugen with confusion. "Weed's family wants to see you, if you're okay with that."

"I would gladly see them," I answered, walking out of Gajou to encounter Weed's family.

 ** _Finally Tamashi has a very happy dream. What do you think of it now? Is Tamashi's character growing? Please give me your thoughts._**


	40. Chapter 40

I exited Gajou, scanning my eyes around the Ohu army in search for the three Akitas – Weed, Gin, and Joe. Finally, I saw them standing behind a row of trees, whispering amongst themselves.

After hearing me approach them, Gin was the first to turn around and smile at me politely. "Tamashi," he greeted with a gentle grin. "I wouldn't be surprised if you knew what we were all discussing with each other."

"Even if I had overheard what you were saying," I said, "I wouldn't have lied and said that I hadn't."

"That's why we came to a wonderful conclusion," Joe said with a welcoming light in his blue eyes. He gently nudged his younger brother forward. "Go ahead, brother."

Weed inhaled and exhaled, grinning as he spoke the twelve fantastic words: " _We would like for you to become a member of the family_."

My heart literally skipped a beat as soon as I heard those words. I knew damn well I heard them clearly, as they repeatedly rang in my ears. And the joy in my eyes could not be even brighter as the wonderful realization dawned upon me like a ray of sunshine. " _You're going to allow me into your family_?" I gasped, hearing myself choke as I sputtered out the word allow.

"Why should we not?" Gin asked, smiling with gleeful confusion. "Since you've first came to this pack, since you've first met my son, you've been blinded by such a dark and powerful hatred and vengeance. Even after being yelled at, and possibly having your heart grow warmer and bigger with affection for wolves, the creature's you've always feared, and having forgiven such brutal Shepherds for trying to massacre my friend, you proved yourself as loyal, loving, caring, gentle, and kind as if you were my own puppy."

"And after hearing of your own ways of following my examples of forgiveness and kindness towards others, even to those who were intending to do harm," Weed pushed on, "you were not willing to sink as low as to murder those scoundrels, knowing deep down inside that you would've been no better than they were."

"And after seeing how patient and observant of a student you were when being taught a new technique," Joe went on, "you were only willing to use the most deadly attacks as a last resort. You weren't willing to waste your energy on a powerful Battouga unless absolutely

necessary."

"You're a kind and compassionate friend," Gin said, followed by Weed.

"An understanding and loyal sister," Weed added with friendliness, soon finished by Joe.

"And a wonderful, patient, and observant student," Joe completed the praise that I received.

One by one, they all bowed their heads and, with smiles of joy, they asked with pride and joy in their voices: " _Would you like to become one of our family members, Tamashi_?"

After hearing their reasons for allowing me into their little family, hearing the proof of my growth in personality, there was only one answer: "Yes."

 ** _Aww! Isn't that sweet? :3 Is it get better with every chapter?_**


	41. Chapter 41

The sun began to set that afternoon, the golden orb slowly sliding behind the horizon. The crows were cawing in the distance, possibly having found a rotting carcass. The bright glow of the sun was slowly starting to dim, second by second.

"Tamashi?" Gin asked from behind me as I stared off into the distance. "We're going to go to sleep. Would you care to join us?"

"Give me a minute, Gin," I told him in a calm and polite voice. " I just want to think for a little while, okay?"

"I understand, Tamashi," Gin said, nodding his scarred head and walking back inside Gajou.

As soon as Gin disappeared inside Gajou, I leaped upon the high peak of the structure itself. Finding that I was completely alone, I gazed up into the sky, thinking out loud to myself.

 _God, what's to become of me? What is expectant of us in the future? Will we finally have peace? Will I finally have a real family, one who will last as long as I'm still around? I already have the required mental and physical strength I need to defeat my enemies – and brutally murder Scimitar – if needed, thanks to Retsuga, Jerome, Joe, and Hyouma. I'm no longer the weak-willed, naïve, little Akita bitch I had been when I was younger. I already have the essential emotional push from Weed, Gin, and Mugen, due to their kindness and how their morals had affected my own way of thinking. I'm no longer the bloodthirsty, revenge craving monster I had been for the past three years. All of my doubt, vengeance, and hatred had all but vanished thanks to these wonderful dogs – these wonderful wolves. I had used to hate wolves, due to my awful memory of Scimitar. But, thanks to Retsuga, Hyouma, and Mugen (my mate, Mugen), every single drop of loathing I had towards wolves – though I still view Scimitar as my enemy – was all wiped away when Mugen had shown me what wolves were really like. And, I know you've chosen such a path for me. I see your path, your way of thinking, God. In order to find the brightest light, you'll have to go to the deepest pit of hell itself. But my pit of hell isn't ready for me to jump hastily in yet. I'm sure you'll let me know when the time comes._

Nodding my head in understanding, I leaped down from Gajou's peak and walked into the rocky structure, eventually finding Mugen and curling up beside him. Smiling at his beautifully handsome features, I licked the wolf gently on the forehead and laid my own head down, eventually falling asleep.

 ** _Jeez, I hope you all enjoyed that little calm before the storm moment. Because things are only going to heat up from here. Please review._**


	42. Chapter 42

I had only slept for a few hours, roughly three, before waking up to the smell of blood. For a brief millisecond, I thought it was another animal's. However, when the air blew the scent of a dog in my face, the realization came to me. _I was smelling Weed's blood!_

In that instant, I leaped to my feet and raced towards the source of where the blood was coming from. Luckily, the scent wasn't that far away, but the fact that I saw a blood trail leading to a circle of trees worried me. I had to keep my guard up, no matter what.

Glancing up at one of the high branches of one of the trees, I leaped upon the highest branch and looked down. It was then that I saw the blue Tora-Ge Akita yearling, unconscious and bleeding heavily from his wounds. There were two wounds long gashes over the right side of his face. I saw bruises all over his hind legs, possibly of making him incapable of attacking. I witnessed that the Akita's left ear had been ripped off. Finally, I spotted the most horrible sight of all. Right where Weed's heart was, there was instead a gruesome but small hole. It didn't look deep enough where his heart would've been torn out, but it was still a critical wound.

Rage flooded my eyes and I found myself growling in hatred. Whoever it was had hurt my little angel, scarred his body heavily while still leaving him seemingly alive. It then occurred to me – too late – that I had been lured into a trap!

I leaped down from the tree and stood protectively over the wounded Akita. If they wanted my little angel – _my brother!_ – dead, they would have to go through me first! "You're going to pay for what you've done to my angel," I swore with bared fangs, "whoever you are."

"Heh," a sinister voice laughed in a low tone, causing me to turn my head around too late.

Before I could move, before I could demand who was there, something hard knocked me into darkness of unconsciousness.

 ** _Crap! Well, you can't really blame her for being protective of her little angel, you know? Gin probably would've done that same thing (correct me if I'm wrong)._**


	43. Chapter 43

I opened my eyes, slowly coming to. The back of my head ached from where that damned bastard or bitch had hit me. All of a sudden I realized I was forgetting something – someone! The image of a certain blue Tora-Ge Akita, heavily wounded and bruised. Weed!

I leaped to my paws and scanned the area around me, finally witnessing a Doberman Pinscher with some type of metal dome over the right side of his face and metal legs that looked extremely sharp. Remembering Gin's stories of his past comrades and enemies, I instantly recognized him.

"Sniper," I hissed with rage. "What have you done with Weed?"

"Oh I just hurt him a little bit," Sniper chuckled sinisterly. "I wish you could've seen his wounds up close and personal. The little naïve shit had no idea what was coming."

Rage caused me to growl with bared fangs. I feigned a lunge for the skinny brown and black dog, only for Sniper to whirl around and attempt to make a kick for my lower jaw. Luckily, I was faster and ducked as low as I possibly could, finally grabbing one of the Doberman's metal legs in my jaws and swinging his entire back into the wall of Gajou's room.

"You Akita shit!" Sniper roared, only for me grab his neck in my fangs and slam his back three times into the cave floor, earning a cry of agony with every slam. Finally, while still holding his neck in my fangs, I viciously tore my head to the right and also yanked a chunk of flesh from his unprotected neck. Once more, I heard a yell of utter agony as he finally stilled and slumped to the floor, watching as he wheezed and gasped pitifully for air.

"Had enough?" I hissed.

"Oh I think he's had plenty of wounds to weaken him thanks to you and your wonderful sense of brutality," a cold, demonic voice said from behind me. I turned around and saw him. The sinister being that had caused me to hide and whimper and cower from my past. The malicious hound that had scarred my mind forever. The maniacal wolf that had brought hell before my eyes when I was just a very young pup. The heartless bastard that was going to pay dearly for doing such mental and emotional agony to me.

"Scimitar," I hissed, staring straight into the wolf's now blood red eyes. However, unlike how I had been in my past, when I was just barely a pup whimpering and cowering beneath him, a dark hatred build up inside of me, forcing me to glare back at the wolf without a glimmer of horror in my eyes.

"Well, well, well," Scimitar grinned, "you actually remember me. Though I'm not surprised, since I'm the one who fucked up your little fragile mind when you were no more than a cowardly little bitch."

"Heh," I chuckled, causing the wolf to gape at me in shock. "Contrary to your damned little opinion, I've actually grown out of my little fearful shell that you so arrogantly cloaked me in. And now, I'm no longer afraid of you or your arrogant, stupid ass personality."

"Oh we'll see about that, won't we?" the maned wolf smirked heartlessly, making a lunge for me. That, of course, was my little ticket to show just how wrong he was.

I easily countered with a headbutt of my own, causing him to cry out in pain and reel his head back. He easily recovered and went to bite me on the neck, unaware that I had immediately made my next move. With my wolf-like speed, I tossed my head up and knocked him right in the lower jaw, causing him to throw his head back from the force. Unwilling to let the wolf recover in time, I grabbed his right front paw and swung his head right into wall of the cave.

WHACK! As soon as Scimitar's head hit the cave wall, he instantly struggled to recover, but couldn't react quickly enough when I instantly wrapped my jaws around his thick, mane covered neck. "This is for you, my little angel," I swore silently to Weed. Without any more time to waste, I spun around and unleashed my Neck The Killing technique, causing the wolf to howl in pain. I spun around eight times before finally releasing him and landing perfectly on my paws, watching as the wolf slumped to the ground.

"Say your prayers, bastard," I snarled to the wolf before leaving Gajou only to come to a horrible sight. _The sight of an all-out war_!

 ** _Oh hell yeah! Tamashi's gone all badass!_**


	44. Chapter 44

It was there that I saw everyone in Weed's pack – including Reika, Mel, and Hook – fighting as hard as they could.

Kagetora, Ken, and their fathers were battling two large boars. Doing their attacks as team, Kagetora and Ken had recklessly leaped upon both of the boars' heads. They opened their eyes and viciously bit deep into the eyes of both boars. The large furry pigs howled in agony, swinging their heads wildly. However, they were less fortunate when Kurotora had bitten deep into the first boar's skull, brutally tearing out the brain of his enemy. Ben, who had easily dodged the charge of the second boar, had grabbed it by its neck and swung it over his head, smashing its back into the ground so hard that I heard a loud crack. I witnessed that _the boar's spine was protruding from its chest_! I couldn't help but grin like an idiot at Ben. Blind or not, he was such a bad ass!

Cross and George were facing off against a female Pitbull, which caused me to have doubt. Salukis were swift and clever, but it would've only been a matter of time before the Pit caught hold of the situation and mercilessly killed them. Luckily, Cross lured the Pit into attacking her, causing the female bulky dog to aim her jaws for Cross' throat. Just as I was about to say "Look out", George had grabbed the skinny tail of the Pit and – with about as much strength has he could muster in the skinny body of his – swung the Pit into a branch that was protruding from one of the trees, easily impaling her through her heart.

"Damn, George," I muttered, turning my head away to stare at Jerome, Maxime, and Lydia. To my horror, I watched as they faced off against Victor, Bozlev, and Alam. I couldn't help but growl in anger. I knew I shouldn't have trusted those bastards!

"I knew I shouldn't have followed your orders as to kill innocent puppies and females," Maxime hissed at Victor. "I should've killed you when I had the chance."

"Yes," Victor mocked. "You should have killed me. But you were so ** _weak_** as to let your brotherly love towards your sister's morals get in the way of domination over this pitiful land! Now, you're going to regret ever having lived in the first place, you damned traitor!"

Before Victor move, Jerome tackled him to the ground and instantly kicked him off as soon as Victor rolled on top of him. Seeing what had happened to their rotten and power-hungry excuse of tyrant, Bozlev and Alan went to attack Jerome, only for Maxime and Lydia to bite into their throats and swing them at each other.

"What do you think you're–" Before Victor could finish, he was grabbed by the tail by Jerome and swung up into the air, before being mercilessly sliced by Jerome's fangs. Finally, after being pinned and bitten on the neck by Jerome, Victor's neck was squeezed, causing him to howl in agony.

"Victor-sama!" Bozlev and Alam cried out in fear, making Lydia and Maxime see their opportunities and attack. Maxime had knocked Alam's lower jaw underneath his head, swinging him backwards and – seeing that the bone-jawed Shepherd was caught off guard – wrapped his four fangs around the Shepherd's throat and squeezed, ensuring death as blood exploded from the popped jugular vein. Finding that Bozlev was left, Lydia made him her target, racing up to him and – using a special skill – attacked the Shepherd with a very quick speed, inflicting quick, but deep wounds. After seeing that Bozlev was unable to move due to the agony he was receiving, Lydia quickly raced underneath the shepherd and, with her fangs, tore downwards from his throat all the way down his chest and belly, spoiling out his internal organs. Jerome, Lydia, and Maxime had won their battle.

Moss, Jaguar, and Musashi were easily handling two Tibetan Mastiffs on their own. It wasn't so difficult, seeing as Moss and Musashi were both massive dogs and were capable of handling dogs their own sizes with ease. Moss rammed his head into one of the Mastiff's chest, knocking him on his back and easily crushing his head with a very massive paw. Jaguar had distracted the second Mastiff long enough for Musashi come from behind, raise a giant paw above his head, and send it crashing right into the Tibetan Mastiff's spine, paralyzing him. "Say good-bye, mother fucker," Musashi growled, wrapping his jaws around the other Mastiff's skull and squeezing it as hard as he could. Eyeballs, shards of skull, and flesh exploded from what was left of the enemy Mastiff's head, causing me to gape in awe.

"He really is the Twelfth-Heavy Weight Champion," I breathed, soon looking over at Kyoushiro fighting an American Bully. He had impulsively made a lunge for the Bully, as soon as the enemy dog went to bite down, Kyoushiro leaped upon the Bully's head and shoved him into the dirt and landed perfectly on his own four paws. The Bully recovered from his face-plant, but as soon as he turned away, Kyoushiro began to – holy shit! – dig up rocks at his opponent, momentarily blinding him. It was only after digging up a large boulder and sending it flying at the Bully's face with a loud crack, was when he leaped high into the air and dove straight down at the Bully's throat with a furious yell. Joy brimmed in my eyes as I saw that Kyoushiro had finally sank his fangs around the Bully's throat, squeezed it as tight as he could, and ended the life of his enemy.

"That's so awesome, Kyoushiro," I whimpered with joy, scanning the rest of my fighting comrades. Akame and Tesshin were easily dodging the blows of two black Kai-Kens, making up in skill, speed, and fang and claw sharpness in what they couldn't with brute strength. Tesshin was quickly inflicting major damage in to one of the Kai-Kens, while Akame had thrown the second Kai dog into his partner. With their speed, Akame and Tesshin headbutted their enemies in the chests, finally knocking them off a cliff.

"Just as I expected from such proud Ninja-Dogs," I muttered, turning my head away to see Hiro battling with a bulky, white and brown Dogo Argentino. The Dogo made a reckless lunge, only for Hiro to headbutt him and grab his throat in his massive jaws, shaking the giant dog around. After the Dogo was dazed enough, Hiro finally pinned the white and black dog down with a paw, lifted his head away from the other dog's throat, and _bit in between his legs, brutally tearing off his balls_! Before the Dogo had a chance to scream, Hiro finally bit once more into the dog's throat, finally crushing it.

"Awesome!" I howled with victory, spotting Rocket and GB easily dodging the moves of another black and white Borzoi. Rocket raced towards his enemy, while GB had snapped his jaws around the right hind leg of the enemy Borzoi. The black Borzoi went to bite down on the English Setter's head, only for Rocket to grab ahold of his friend and yank him out of harm's way. Before the enemy Borzoi could figure out what was going on, Rocket and GB came from either side of his flanks and rushed forward with their impressive speed, causing major wounds to open up all over the stunned Borzoi. Heavily bleeding and exhausted, the black and white Borzoi fell to the ground.

"Rocket saved GB," I muttered, finally understanding the deep loyalty of Rocket's personality. "He actually took him out of harm's way. He actually made sure that GB was alright. Rocket is a loyal and caring friend."

Kite, Bat, and Buruge were tag-teaming a Golden Retriever with all sorts of scars on his body. Buruge had bitten the Retriever's snout, causing the golden dog to howl in pain. Kite took the opportunity to mercilessly slice into the Retriever's spine, causing the golden dog to become paralyzed while Bat and Buruge bit into their enemy's throat.

"What teamwork," I beamed with joy, having finally realized the deep understanding of these three dogs.

Mel had headbutted a yearling Rottweiler, while Reika had bitten him on the tail – hard! The large brown and black dog growled, about to bite down on the female red Akita. However, Hook was one step ahead of them and – possibly having learned so new moves thanks to Akame, Tesshin, and Weed – leaped off a tree, opened his mouth, and easily bit into the Rottweiler's head. Figuring that their friend had aimed for the most important spot, Reika and Mel had blinded the Rottweiler with their fangs, allowing Hook to squeeze the throat of the Rottweiler.

"For a pair of pups," I muttered with fascination, "they're pretty darn good."

I beheld Retsuga, Hyouma, and Mugen facing off against three other wolves. One of them was male with an unusual pale pinkish color while his mane was darker shade of pink. The second white wolf with eye makings, spots around his face, and strange stripes (all colored black). The final wolf was the usual black and white colored, but he also had a bit of tufted up, white fur on his head.

"Pink Dragon. Bobcat. Mountain Bison," Retsuga said their names calmly. "Three of the Canine Warriors of Darkness. I assume you're not here to make peace, are you?"

"After what you've done to gain the trust of those mongrels you so lovingly call your friends and betray your own kind?" Mountain Bison hissed, licking his fangs.

"And you?" Pink Dragon shot an accusingly glare at my mate, Mugen. "Leaving your subordinates to die when you should have been fighting alongside them? Just when I thought you couldn't be anymore cowardly."

"I'm no longer that type of wolf anymore," Mugen snarled back. "A beautiful and amazing dog had taught me to be stronger, taught me to adore dogs! They can be just as proud, courageous, skillful, strong, and strong-willed as wolves!"

"Let's see if you'll take that truth to your grave!" Mountain Bison had enough and leaped

for Mugen, who easily rolled off to his left and leaped to his paws just in time to see the other black and white wolf aim for his throat. However, Hyouma didn't waste a second and grabbed Mountain Bison by the tail and swing the black and white wolf into the two other enemy wolves.

Mugen, having gathered up his courage, and brutally bit into the uncovered neck of Pink Dragon, tearing down. Two nasty wounds appeared in the pinkish-white wolf, who howled in agony and threw Mugen off of him. "You cowardly little shit!" he roared, referring to my mate. "You're going to pay dearly for that!"

"I don't think so!" I roared, racing towards the pink-maned wolf and easily breaking into his skull with my own razor-sharp fangs. I heard a gasp of pain come from the pink-maned wolf, which soon whistled into a low wheeze. After seeing the light in Pink Dragon's eyes dim forever, I looked at my mate. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," Mugen responded, watching as Retsuga and Hyouma had faced off against Mountain Bison and Bobcat. "They'll be okay. You have to go after Scimitar. All he'll do is repeat your awful history if he so much as slinks away."

"Thank you, Mugen," I thanked him, looking around to see that everyone in Weed's pack was finished handling their opponents. The only enemies that were left were two Doberman Pinschers, who were facing off against Weed, Joe, and Gin. I was sure that my adoptive family had everything handled from here. They were, after all, true Leaders.

"I love you, Mugen," I whispered, licking his snout lovingly before heading off. Before searching to track down that devil Scimitar. Before my thoughts were starting to heat up with the image of Scimitar – _bloody, mauled, and gored_ – in my jaws.

 ** _So, what do you guys think so far?_**


	45. Chapter 45

With what I couldn't make up for in sight, I easily made up for in hearing and smell, having leaped upon a tree branch. I sniffed the air carefully, trying to catch the scent of the damned wolf. Finally, the scent of a wolf drifted into my nostrils, causing my eyes to widen in slight glee of the realization that I had found him. Using my wolf and assassin abilities, I leaped from tree to tree in an attempt to chase down the wolf. Finally, there was a blur of black and ash-grey that zoomed beneath me. Realizing that I had found the evil creature, I proceeded to follow him, keeping my own presence above him.

Finally, I watched as he halted before a massive cave, smirking from behind him. "Tamashi," the wolf sang maliciously. "I know you're there. Why don't you come down here so I can show you something?"

Figuring that this had to be a trap, I leaped down from my high point, but stood directly behind the monster. I peered inside the cave, sniffing the air and catching the scent of a bear.

"What do you think?" Scimitar asked in a mock-sweet voice. "Should I wake him up?"

"Who is in there, you bastard?" I growled, baring my fangs.

The wolf finally turned around and leered straight in my face, sending a chill through my body when he said, " _Akakabuto's son, Monsoon_."

After seeing my shocked expression, he smirked, speaking out a chilling conclusion, "I've seen the way how you were willing to go through the extremes to make sure that everyone in your way suffered as much as you had in your past. I've seen how wonderfully brutal and senseless you'd become after my killing of your family. I've literally tasted your hatred and vengefulness towards enemies, whether or not they've claimed to be innocent. I've seen what you've done all throughout your three years when you were swearing revenge on all 'evil-doers'. How you were wanting to make them scream, beg, and bleed as much as I would've if I was in your place."

"And yet," he frowned in mock-sorrow, "you disappointed me, my dear Tamashi. You had let one little Akita brat change your already-broken heart for the better. When you could have remained the merciless killer you had been ever since I had entered your life and took your entire life before your eyes."

I only growled from behind him in response.

"Since you've been such a bad girl, and haven't so willingly followed in my pawprints as I hoped you would," the wolf's eyes glimmered red with pure demonic intent, "I think it's time for a little punishment. The. Ultimate. Punishment."

The wolf turned his head away from me and snarled at the entrance of the massive cave. For a brief millisecond, there was nothing – no sight or sound – of any bear, though the cave reeked with the stench of it. Finally, there was an ear shattering roar and, having heard the snarls from outside of his cave, charged out a massive 5 meter tall brown bear with red tufted up fur running along his back and his right arm was completely golden.

I went to attack, only for Scimitar to immediately slam me into the ground and pin me down with a paw, choking me.

"Now," Scimitar mused, "as for your punishment, I think we might have to repeat history, don't you?"

A howl was echoed throughout the land, causing the monstrous bear to lumber in a quick speed. For a millisecond, I didn't know where the sound had come from. Then, it occurred to me that the howl came from Gajou.

"Obviously," I snapped back at him, "you have no idea what the dogs of Ohu are capable of! Gin had been known to take down Akakabuto with one simple Battouga, decapitating the monster's head from his shoulders! Weed had been known to fucking impale a 30-foot-long genetically enhanced German Shepherd with a massive tree spike! And the rest of their dogs have already slaughtered your pitiful excuse of an army! What makes you think that your plan of killing me will work?!"

"Oh I know it will work," Scimitar replied smugly, causing me to growl in complete disgust. "My back-up plans _always_ work. Dead or alive, I'll still have exactly what I want."

Remembering my assassin training form Jerome, I roughly kicked the wolf in the balls and swung my head into his lower jaw, throwing his entire body off of me. As soon as he gathered himself, I readied my stance and bared my fangs at him.

"You're not going anywhere except to hell once I'm through with you!" I snarled.

"Well, if you're so willing to send me there," Scimitar grinned, "why don't we settle this in the obvious manner?"

"Let's dance, mother fucker," I growled as we both finally leapt for another's throats.

 ** _Yeah. I knew Scimitar had to have some type of back-up plan in the works. And why bother bringing in Bob, who worked under control for Monsoon if you're not going to have the bear himself in here? Is it getting better?_**


	46. Chapter 46

Scimitar went to headbutt me, only for me to whirl around and aim a kick from my hind legs to his lower jaw. The kick knocked his head backwards, but the millisecond he recovered, I ran up to him with me wolf/assassin speed and slammed my head into his chest, knocking the wind out of him. A paw kicked me hard in my belly, causing me to wheeze and momentarily lose sight of the wolf. Three quick blows from a wolf's fangs quickly and painfully sliced into my chest, back, and head, having a final collision from all four paws pin me down from behind, immobilizing me.

"You might be older, you bitch," Scimitar hissed, licking my neck with lust. "But you're still ten years too young to be attacking me. You've spent all your life trying to become stronger, but – in reality – you're still the same weakling pup you've always been ever since I've made an encounter in your life."

To his shock, I began to snicker. "And you're still the same arrogant, asshole, son of a bitch you've always been ever since you've sworn to make me suffer. Well, let me ask you, mother fucker. How do you manage to achieve such a goal after you're dead?"

As soon as he was momentarily stunned, I threw my head back into his own face, causing him to cry out in surprise. I whirled over on my back and planted a paw into his balls, causing him to howl in agony. Seeing that he was caught off guard, I leaned underneath his and brutally bit around his neck, about to unleash my Neck The Killing technique again. However, the maned wolf caught hold of the situation and grabbed my tail in an attempt to pull me off, only allowing my fangs to dip deeper and deeper through his thick mane and into his neck.

He finally released my tail and bit deep into my ass, causing me to grimace and let go of his neck. I fell on my back and was pinned down by the wolf once more, only for me to headbutt him right in the skull.

Scimitar recoiled, but instantly recovered, ready to finally bite onto my neck and end me right there. Except I wasn't beneath him anymore. "You little shit," he growled, slowly looking around him. "Where are you?"

"Right here," I whispered demonically, as he had with me when I was just a puppy. He whirled around too late, which finally allowed me to use my ultimate weapon. Leaping down from one of the trees that surrounded us, I curled myself into a ball and began to bite wildly while spinning around in a disk formation. "ZETSU TENROU BATTOUGA!"

Scimitar's eyes momentarily widened in shock, but he soon leered and easily moved out of way. To my great relief, I was actually expecting him to do such a thing. I ceased my Battouga and skid to my paws, instantly grabbing his tail in my jaws before he could escape.

The wolf glared back at me with realization. "You faked the Battouga!" he yelled with an expression of confused rage and horror.

"Damn right I did," I smirked evilly, not giving him a chance to react. With a mighty swing on my neck, I threw the wolf up and over my head and brutally impaled his entire chest into a large branch that was sticking out of the tree above me. Joy and relief settled in my eyes as I saw that rotten apple core of the wolf's heart had also been skewered by the branch, leaving a massive hold in his chest. Splinters of bone from where his chest had been impaled had scattered all over the forest floor. I watched as the monster pitifully attempted to breath for air, hearing his last and final vow as he proceeded to painfully leer down at me. "You will fail."

Having enough of this bastard's bullshit, I grabbed his tail and – with a furious tug of my head – _split the entire wolf's upper body from his chest to his neck to the half-line all the way up to the tip of his skull in half_! As soon as the decapitated wolf fell with a thud to the ground, and with his tail still in my mouth, I swung my head around three times and threw the corpse of the wolf into a another branch, _only this time, he was sliced in half_! Both of the upper body and lower body split off into different directions, finally ensuring that the bastard – the nightmare, the Devil, the monster that had made my life a living hell up to this day – _was finally, completely, and utterly destroyed_! My revenge for my family's death had been fulfilled.

"Fuck you," I swore, turning my head away from the decapitated monster and – suing the branches of the trees – leaped back towards Gajou with my assassin speed.

 ** _If that's not a death suitable for such a monster, I don't know what is. By the way, sorry for making the fight between Tamashi & Scimitar so short, but I felt like Tamashi couldn't waste any more time. _**


	47. Chapter 47

Leaping upon one of the trees above me, I kicked off with my hind legs and jumped from tree to tree with blinding speed. It was only a matter of seconds before I leaped upon my twelfth tree that I heard a loud and gritty roar. Looking down beneath me, I saw a giant brown bear with red tufted up fur on his back and a golden furred right arm.

"Monsoon!" I whispered under my breath, not wanting to waist a second. With my speed and tree climbing ability (with great thanks to Retsuga and Jerome), I soared from tree to tree in order to reach Gajou. After three milliseconds, I finally reached the very familiar and deep gorge, the gorge that made the secret "passageway" to Gajou. With one final leap, I made me way across the gorge and over the small forest, eventually coming to where every dog in Weed's pack was surrounding a Doberman with metallic legs and a dome over the right side of his face. Laying limp in the Doberman's jaws was – OH HELL NO! – a badly wounded Weed! Remembering the Doberman from Gin's story, I called out the bastard's name, "SNIPER!"

The Doberman looked up and leered at me with malicious intent in his blue eyes. "Oh," he mocked. "I'm sorry, dear Tamashi. Did I hurt your sweet little angel?"

"No," a calm but angry voice growled from behind the Doberman. Striking the skinny black and brown dog in the back of the head and causing Sniper to release his hold on Weed was Joe, who had landed skillfully on his paws while grabbing his little brother and leaping away to safety. "Don't _ever_ lay a paw on _any_ of my family members!"

Sniper, who had recovered from his head strike, went to bite down on Weed, only to realize he was no longer underneath him. Before he could even think about growling or hissing in rage, Gin had grabbed his right-metallic hind leg and swung him around three times before finally jumping high into the air and hurling Sniper down, down, down into gorge below!

In an instant, there was the sound of something piercing flesh and a long howl of agony. I was bewildered. Sniper couldn't have reached the bottom already. Confused as to what or who had killed the Doberman, I peered down the gorge and saw the massive, monstrous bear Monsoon climbing up the wall of the cliff. Impaled on the bear's right-hand claws was the bloodied and gored corpse of Sniper!

"Shit!" I hollered, turning my head to the two blue Tora-Ge Akitas and the two wolves. "Gin! Weed! Retsuga! Hyouma!" As soon as the wolves and Tora-Ge Akitas leaped to my side and glanced down, I gazed at them with a look of seriousness. "You know what to do."

"Wait," Bob said from behind us. "Maybe I can convince him to not kill you."

"You can actually talk to the bear?" Weed asked bewildered with Gin, Retsuga, Hyouma, and I equaling his confusion.

"Let me try and reason with him," Bob said in a shaken and submissive tone. He leaned over the side of the cliff and called to the bear, "Monsoon! These dogs mean you no harm! They just want to talk!"

Monsoon roared with rage, with all of four of us certain that – even though we couldn't understand him – that he was through with the translation games and wanted so desperately to kill all of us.

Bob, having finished listening to Monsoon's raging, answered to all of us, "He says 'I want to get revenge against the one who killed my father'."

"'Your father'?" Weed asked, titling his head to the side.

"He's the son of Akakabuto," I spoke out the realization to all of the dogs of the Ohu pack.

One by one, every single one of Weed's dogs reacted. Mel, Reika, Koyuki, Sasuke, and GB were trembling in fear. Hiro, Moss, Musashi, Hakuro, Kurotora, and Jaguar growled in rage. Kyoushiro laughed, obviously not at all scared of the realization. Rocket, Akame, Tesshin, Gin, Ben, and Weed glared back down at the bear in a calm rage.

"Ugly son of a bitch," Kyoushiro muttered with disgust.

"He looks so much like his bastard excuse of a father," Moss remarked with the exact tone of distain.

"Let's kill the son of a bitch and be over it then!" George snapped, baring his fangs in rage.

"We can't all just charge at him recklessly," Tesshin observed. "We need to use some type of plan."

I grimaced. If he really was the son of Akakabuto, then it was going to take a lot more than just one simple Battouga to take him down. It was going to take at least five Battougas to overthrow this bear. Five Battougas . . . and there were five users of the Battougas.

"Weed! Gin! Retsuga! Hyouma!" I called out to the two blue Tora-Ge Akitas and underworld wolves. As soon as I got their attention, I said to all four of them, "I want you all to use your separate Battougas. Weed? Gin? You two will aim for the shoulders. It'll probably wound the bear long enough before Retsuga can make his Battouga aim for the lower back. Disable that part of the spine and the bear will be paralyzed. Hyouma will aim his Battouga for the bear's skull."

"Tamashi . . ." Weed whispered without saying anymore. He finally nodded and told his father and the wolves to prepare themselves. His aqua eyes glared back at the bear, showing not a glimmer of fear.

"You!" Weed hissed, causing the bear to growl up at him. "Your son of a bitch father killed my grandfather. Your damned father had killed countless of innocent dogs and humans. And you're going to end up just the same damn way!"

Monsoon roared in retaliation, making it easier for Bob to translate for him.

"He says, 'How I'd like to see that happen'," Bob deciphered for the Akita puppy.

"Father! Mugen! Retsuga!" Weed ordered. "Let use our Battougas to take down my grandfather's murderer!" With a furious yell, he, Gin, Retsuga, and Hyouma leaped down from the cliff, with Weed looking at his dad. "Are you with me, Father?"

"Yes," Gin agreed, falling downwards towards the bear. "We need to aim for the shoulders, my son. The shoulder connects to the arms. In order to render the bear seriously wounded, we'll need to disable the shoulders."

"Right, Father!" Weed agreed, soon falling right beside his father. In less than three milliseconds, they were right on above the monster's head.

"NOW!" Weed and Gin roared, as they both began to curl up into a ball and spin around, biting wildly while spinning. "ZETSU TNEROU BATTOUGA!" There were two flashes of blue across Monsoon's shoulders, blood exploding from his hideous wounds. The bear roared in sheer agony, momentarily releasing his hold on the side of the cliff. Gin and Weed had averted their directions and spun around, leaping off of the cliff with their powerful hind legs and succeeding in making back towards the top of the cliff.

"It's our turn, Hyouma," Retsuga said, calmly glaring at the bear. He too leaped down from the cliff and activated his Zetsu Tenrou Battouga, slightly turning himself in a sideways position and – Oh shit! – _slicing through the lower half of Monsoon's spine_! While the bear released his hold on the cliffside, the one-eyed wolf leaped right off the opposite cliffside and aimed himself for the top of the cliff.

"Up here, you overgrown fur ball!" Hyouma cried out, unleashing his Battouga. Unlike Weed's, Gin's, and Retsuga's, his Battouga was in the shape of a star that collided quickly and perfectly with Monsoon's skull! Using his hind legs, he ricocheted off of the bear's head in order to gain level back onto the cliff, just in time to see the monster howl in rage and agony as he fell backwards – still alive! – with his head partially gored out and his claws unable to grip at anything.

I then realized what had to be done. If Monsoon was just as persistent, bloodthirsty, and tyrannical as his father, then someone would have to make the ultimate sacrifice to save all of Ohu. Someone would have to give his life in order to ensure such peace for all of Japan.

"Tamashi?" Mugen asked, curiously. "What are you thinking?"

"I'll do it," I muttered, glaring down at the still-falling bear. "I was an outcast when I had first arrived at Ohu, at your Paradise, Weed. I've struggled hard to see things the way you do. However, it took the eyes of two wolves – and your pure and kind soul – to make me realize that life wasn't about vengeance at all, but justice. Killing, but being able to forgive those who deserve to be forgiven. Such a light I thought was all but lost three years ago."

"Tamashi?" Weed's blue eyes brimmed with disbelief. "Don't throw away your life needlessly! You're an amazing fighter, an understanding spirit, and strong-willed soul! You shouldn't talk about such things!"

"And it's with this soul," I said, leaping from the cliffside and spinning end-over towards the bear's still-falling form, "that I'm going to make a necessary and proud sacrifice! For the wolves I had wronged! For the Leader Gin who had seemed like the figure of supreme justice! And for you, Weed, my angel, who had finally made me witness the light of a new hope!"

"DON'T DO IT, TAMASHI!" Weed howled from above me.

I didn't want to disobey my angel's orders, but I couldn't let this monster of a bear live! Finally ceasing my spinning, I bit deep into the giant bastard's throat and, using all of the power in my entire body, tore downwards – viciously, mercilessly, and brutally. Fur split open into one hideously six-foot-long wound. Organs were exposed, causing the bear to gurgle instead of howl in agony this time.

But he was still alive. And as long as he wasn't ready to die than neither was I! Using all of the power in my entire body, I shoved the both of us down into the ravine. Down into the darkness. Down into certain death below.

 _SPLASH!_

 ** _OH SHIT TAMASHI! Almost done, guys! What do you guys think so far?_**


	48. Chapter 48

As soon as I hit water, the blue liquid flooded my nostrils and ears, choking and deafening me. Thanks to the sun that was still beaming down I had enough light to see that I was no longer holding my grip on the bear's fur. My mouth swallowed water every time I tried to breath. And it took me a second to realize that the water around me was rushing fast, pushing further to the right.

I broke my head through the surface of the water, peering over the water that seemed to end not thirty-feet ahead of me. Across the horizon were the still plentiful forests and mountains. Then, the realization hit me hard in the chest – Monsoon and I would be hurling down a waterfall!

If I went over, then Monsoon would have the strength to pull his attention away from me in order to go after my friends – my little angel Weed! If Monsoon went over then, it would mean that I've won but would be out of breath to do anything about it. However, my own worries could wait. I had to kill this son of a bitch for my little angel!

Turning around, I spat out the water and grinned at the monstrous bear. "Over here, you son of a bastard!" I yelled, hoping that would anger the large fur ball enough to divert his attention towards me.

Monsoon's single eye glimmered with rage and planted all four of his paws down onto the river floor and charged at me in a lumbering manner. His roar would have shaken most dogs to their cores. But not Gin. Not Weed. And certainly not me!

"C'mon!" I growled at the bear as he came even closer to me than I thought. "C'mon, you son of a bastard!" I watched as he raised a large clawed hand and swung it down at my head, allowing me to grin and easily maneuver out of the way.

I landed on the other side of the river, only for me to be easily swept towards the rushing waterfall that was blocked by Monsoon. Instead of _allowing_ myself to be swept by the river, I used all of the power in my hind legs to rush at a blinding speed towards the bear's unprotected skull. The bear raised a large claw to block my attack, but – once again – I had been expecting such a thing.

From the corner of my left eye, I leaned myself towards the left and bit deeply into a sharp and pointed branch that was sticking out from a couple of rocks. Using the technique that Retsuga taught me, I swung around the branch while still clamping my fangs down into it. Finally, I broke off the branch, and – once again – using all of the power in my hind legs, launched myself towards the bear's throat.

"EAT THIS, YOU BASTARD!" I roared, spearing the branch all the way _into the bear's throat and out through the back of his neck_. Monsson didn't even get a chance to roar in agony as I – still gripping onto the branch – twisted it sharply to the right and _viciously decapitated the bear's entire head off of his shoulders_! Lastly, I shoved myself off of the headless bear as the large decapitated figure was pushed off the waterfall and into the still lake below.

"Good-bye, you rotten bastard," I hissed, baring all four of my fangs and growling.

"Tamashi?" I heard Gin's voice directly from behind me. Turning around, I saw not only the blue Akita, but also his entire pack. "You've avenged my father and grandfather. You've figured a way to kill the bear without sacrificing yourself. You've figured a way out to wound Monsoon without sacrificing a single one of us."

"You've used what we've taught you in order to succeed in your slaughter of the monster," Jerome said, tilting an ear towards the wolves.

"You've managed to think clearly and think of the consequences and results before figuring a way to finish the bear off," Akame and Tesshin spoke with wisdom.

"You're courageous," Hiro muttered, bowing his head in respect.

"You're skilled," Hyouma admitted, unable to help himself as he smiled.

"You've come a long ways from what you once were," Mugen said. "From scorning Weed's pack and scowling at us wolves and being vengeful to accepting wolves as your mates and friends and allowing Weed to be your precious and innocent angel and becoming more friendly."

"Tamashi?" Weed asked, stepping up to me with blue eyes of pride. To my complete shock, I watched as the Akita pup – suddenly and unexpectedly – bowed his entire body in front of me. "You have surpassed me. From this point on, you are my Leader."

I lifted my head up, only to see that every . . . single . . . dog of Weed's pack was bowing before me. Smiling, I said to him in a gentle voice, "Weed, I'll accept this offer from you . . . if you agree to become my beta – my second in command."

"Agreed, Tamashi," Weed accepted, raising his head and howling along with his pack in victory, pride, and joy.

 ** _AWESOME! TAMASHI'S BECOME A LEADER!_**


	49. Chapter 49

-**Eight months later**-

"Tamashi?" a voice whispered in my ear. I lazily woke up from my sleep, opening my eyes and coming face to face with Mugen. "Would you like to call our puppies so we can play with them?"

"Of course I would," I replied happily, looking up from my laying position and glancing over my shoulder. I watched as Mugen threw his head back and howled, allowing me to wait patiently.

Appearing out from a bush were three wolf-dog puppies – two female and one male. One of the females was pure black with fluffy white cheeks and white grin-mouth markings, gazing back at me curiously with innocent emerald-green eyes. The last sky-blue eyed female was silver furred with black Tora-Ge fur and white stockings. The male looked so much like a wolf than an actual dog-pup, tufted mane peaking up from his head and his upper body colored black while the rest of his underfur was covered in a dark-coal grey.

"Darcy! Nicholai!" I called out to my daughters, soon looking at my son. "Aveon!"

"Mommy!" my daughters and son yelped with joy, leaping upon my back and playfully nipping at ears and tail. "Can you and Daddy teach us how to hunt?"

I chuckled. "I don't really know," I responded, looking up at my mate. "Mugen, dear? Would you be interested in teaching our children how to hunt?"

Mugen chuckled nervously. "Why don't you have Tesshin or Gin teach you? I'm not really big on hunting."

I lovingly licked my wolf-mate on the cheek. "C'mon, Mugen. If you can save me from a big bad bear, then surely you'll be able to have more than enough confidence to teach our children how to hunt, right?"

Mugen smiled and licked me on the forehead, answering, "Of course, Tamashi." He looked down at our puppies and motioned for them to follow. "C'mon, kids."

As soon as the five of us exited Gajou, we came across six new parents – many of them with puppies of their own.

"Good morning, Hiro," I greeted him along with his mate. "Reika."

"Good morning, Leader." Hiro and Reika bowed their heads.

It was then that I heard laughter from behind the two parents and saw a Great Pyrenees puppy sneaking up from behind his father, only to be tackled by another Pyrenees exactly like his father (only without the missing eye).

"Tama," Reika scolded gently, "please get off of your brother."

"But Kin was about to pounce on your father," Tin protested.

Hiro chuckled friendly, licking Tama on the snout. "And with that type of stealth, I'm sure he'll be a great Ohu soldier. Just as you're about to be."

"Thanks, dad," Tama said with a playful smile.

"Tamashi?" Jerome called from my right, causing me to glance in the direction where Jerome and Lydia were tending to their new puppies. "Would you like to meet my children?"

"Yeah," I agreed, leaping over to where Jerome and Lydia were. Beneath them were six German Shepherd puppies – a dark blue/greyish male, a black and cream male, another black and cream that looked a little like his father without the dagger-like eye-marking beneath his eyes, a black male, another half black and half-grey male, and a final male with the same color as his mother.

"Lenov! Tenov! Maru! Akira! Sunny! Tetsou!" Jerome called out to his six puppies. "Why don't you come and meet our new Leader?"

Lenov was the first to approach me, wagging his tail with furious glee. "Hello, Leader," he greeted playfully.

"Leader?" Sunny asked. "Is it true that you decapitated a large bear just by using a branch?"

Lydia chuckled, looking at me with apology. "I'm sorry, Leader," she said with a sheepish smile.

"It's all fine," I accepted the questions from the puppies.

"Are you going to tell us the story of how you became a Leader?" Akira asked eagerly.

"Why don't we wait until–"

I was cut off when Weed's voice mock scolded me. "Tamashi? Are you going to tell the story again without my puppies in your little circle?"

I turned around to see Weed and Koyuki along with their puppies – a red male, a black male, a silvery-blue male that looked so much like his father, and a white female with silver Tiger Stripes.

I chuckled innocently. "I suppose not," I replied, motioning for Weed's puppies to join us. "Orion? Rigel? Sirius? Bellatrix? Would you like to listen to the story as well?"

"Why the hell would we want to listen to another boring story?" Orion spat, only for his father to lightly scold him.

"I would actually love to listen to one of your stories, Leader," Bellatrix replied, sitting down in front of me with eagerness in her eyes.

"Hey, hey!" Kin and Tama came up to me as well, sitting down next to Weed's puppies. "Don't forget about us!"

"If you're going to tell such a story," Mugen said with a smile, having possibly overheard me, "then you're going to have to include your own children as well." He watched as our puppies – as _every single dog_ in Weed's pack – sat down in a circle, awaiting to hear the story of my entire history.

"Alright," I told them, taking a deep breath and telling my story.

" _I remembered it all._ "

THE END

 ** _Alright everyone! That was the end of Tora-Ge Tamashi!_**

 ** _There is NOT going to be a sequel for this._**

 ** _If you're going to review, please put down (and could you please make it descriptive?):_**

 ** _1\. Your 10 favorite parts (and explain why)_**

 ** _2\. How my character Tamashi grew as the story progressed_**

 ** _3\. My grammar and wording_**

 ** _4\. The fight scenes: your favorite ones (which I know were as short as a measly, pathetic excuse of an essay)_**

 ** _5\. The relationship that Tamashi had with the wolves (before and after Mugen had changed her heart)_**

 ** _6\. How badass Tamashi is (?/10). And explain why, please. :)_**

 ** _7\. How you liked Tamashi's puppies' names_**

 ** _8\. How you liked the ending_**

 ** _9\. How you liked the overall story_**


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